23 Bikes En Route to Ensenada PORT OF LIVERPOOL, UNITED KINGDOM- Bajarallymoto.com has announced that the cargo vessel ARA ATLANTIS (Gibraltar) has set sail with 2 shipping containers carrying 23 rally motorbikes en route to the Port of Ensenada for the upcoming BAJA RALLY 2016 in Baja CA, Mexico October 10-15. The historic voyage is an unprecedented undertaking both for the sport of off road racing in the state of Baja CA and the port city of Ensenada.
“This shipment of 23 race vehicles to our port shows the world that Ensenada is not only an international tourist destination, but also a key industrial center in North America”, explains BAJA RALLY’s Chairman Emeritus Nico Saad.
“The dedication and effort of our Proturismo office and senior management to route a cargo ship from Europe directly to our port is a testament to our city’s commitment to promoting off-road rally racing and adventure tourism.”
80 racers from 13 different countries will converge at the San Nicolas Hotel and Casino on October 10 for the six day BAJA RALLY that features 5 days of rally stage racing over 800 miles of Baja CA’s most pristine landscapes. The relatively young BAJA RALLY is only in its fourth year of operations and has doubled in size from the prior year’s edition, whose key objectives include sharing this states rugged beauty with new entrants and stimulating return adventure tourism visits.
“Behind the scenes are some critical players who worked tirelessly for months to clear the first step of disembarking from the United Kingdom”, explains Mauricio Parra, BAJA RALLY Director of Government Affairs who is managing the shipping project. “In particular is Tom Clow from Knights of Old in England who coordinated with freight forwarder John Goode and customs brokers Victor Celis & Victor Celis Jr.”
There’s still a lot of water to cross on the 38 day voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and routing through the Port of Balboa in the Panama Canal. Parra said that BAJA RALLY is already working closely with civic leaders and Port Commissioner Hector Bautista in Ensenada to ensure a timely import of the racers’ motorbikes for the big event.
“It’s the first time this has been attempted and big challenge for everyone”, Parra continued, “In a way, it seems like we are ‘swinging for the piñata’ trying to pull this off, but we're ambitious to share our rally and Baja CA’s treasures with European racers, their families & support teams. We think they will certainly want to return for their own adventure after this.”
Parra continued to explain how “rally racing” is in its infancy stages in North America and how his BAJA RALLY team borrowed the shipping strategy from the enormously popular DAKAR RALLY, which offers free shipping from Paris to South America each year for the world’s longest motorsports event.
“We pretty much decided that in order to sustain our event, we needed to bring the racers to Mexico so we offered them a free ride on the boat. The normal cost for a racer to ship a single bike is several thousand dollars but consolidating a single shipment with 2 containers and using a temporary import (CARNET) was an economical way to share what we have here and attract more world-class racers to future editions.”
Among the teams with motorbikes on the ATLANTIS are racers from Australia, Austria, Kenya, Italy, Scotland, Ireland the UK. Major teams fielding multiple riders include Desert Rose Racing headed by Patsy Quick, Motoden UK’s George Dennison and Austria’s Team Yamaha headed by Stefan Rosner. A full list of riders with motorbikes and gear on board the ARA ATLANTIS is below
George Dennison- UNITED KINGDOM John Mitchinson- UNITED KINGDOM Jenny Morgan- UNITED KINGDOM Bernard McKevitt-UNITED KINGDOM Terrence Starett-IRELAND Jeff Webster-UNITED KINGDOM Nicky Plumb-UNITED KINGDOM Mike Jones-UNITED KINGDOM Christopher Cork-UNITED KINGDOM Paul Lake-UNITED KINGDOM Neal Smith-UNITED KINGDOM Michael Dolling-UNITED KINGDOM
TEAM DESERT ROSE RACING Patsy Quick- Team Manger UNITED KINGDOM Duncan Ure-SCOTLAND Matthew Tisdall- AUSTRALIA James King- AUSTRALIA Francesco Checchini- ITALY Hugh Mackay- UNITED KINGDOM Gerald Taylor- KENYA Rees Robinson-UNITED KINGDOM Pat Priestley-UNITED KINGDOM
TEAM AUSTRIA YAMAHA Stefan Rosner- AUSTRIA Hans Sachs- AUSTRIA Helmut Frauwallner- AUSTRIA
Upon arrival to San Nicolas Hotel & Casino parking compound, the riders crates will be unloaded and prepared for inventory and unpacking.
BAJA RALLY is a long distance, cross country motorcycle navigation adventure race that tests the mind, strength and stamina of riders & drivers. The mission of the rally is to introduce this safer, low impact stye of racing to Baja CA while sharing the treasures and secret of this state with new entrants, inspiring return visits.