The first kilometers in Portugal: the beginning was not very pleasant

On Wednesday, in the city of Grandola in Portugal, almost one and a half hundred crews crossed the starting arch of BP Ultimate Rally-Raid Portugal - this is already the third stage of the World Rally Raid Championship. In this race, the CFMOTO Thunder Racing Team is represented by Antanas Kanopkinas and Gaetan Martinez.

On the first day of the rally, the athletes started and finished in the same city and had to cover a total of less than two hundred kilometers, 101 of which were the special stage. According to the provisional results, A. Kanopkinas finished in second place.

He said that the beginning of the day was not easy, but later everything was good: "The track was very technical. The first part was not very pleasant - sand and a lot of straights, which is not very suitable for our quads. After twenty kilometers the first puddles started and they continued until the finish line. The road narrowed in some places, widened in others, there were many water erosions. The entire track had to be driven with maximum concentration and I am glad that I did not break or damage anything."

The athlete says that both he and his teammate missed a turn and had to go through a ditch. Good part - everything went successfully.

"The second part of the track continued more in the woods, among the trees. There was much more mud and a lot of water - it was an interesting ride. The first day was interesting, everything went well, now we are looking forward to the challenges of the coming days", G. Martinez said at the finish and told that after finishing the special stage, the participants had to cover a few more kilometers in the city, where there was a show-off drive for the cameras and the locals and city guests.

Tomorrow, Thursday, the athletes will again start and finish in the city of Grandola. In total, they will have to cover about 210 kilometers, 166 of which will be the special stage. According to the organizers, 40 percent of the track will be sand, 19 percent will be asphalt, and the remaining 41 percent will be various soil.