As seen in The Motociclismo: Vanessa Ruck, a British motorcycle rider and UK-based adventurer, has completed the 1000 DUNAS RAID in Morocco, making her the first female to ever finish on a standard production large-capacity adventure bike.

The British firm culminates its participation in the demanding raid with much more than a victory. The 1000 Dunas has tested the physical and psychological capacities of dozens of expert and amateur pilots, as well as the performance of their mounts. Seven intense days, between October 22 and 29, in which the participants have covered between 1,500 and 2,500 km.

Among them, four lovers of two wheels with the most varied profiles at the controls of different Triumph Tigers: the five-time Enduro World Champion Iván Cervantes with his Tiger 900 Rally Pro who won the Hard Trail; Josu Orozko, an amateur mechanic by profession with a Tiger 800 XC for more than 10 years who has made a podium in the Trail category; and Aled Price and Vanessa Ruck, two semi-professional riders who traveled by road from South Wales to Granada on the Tiger 900 Rally Pro to take part in the raid and who have made Vanessa the first female ‘Finisher’ with a motorcycle of more than 200 kg and totally series.

The passion for motorcycles and for adventure, as well as the desire to excel, have united the 66 participants of the 1000 Dunes raid in what has been one of the most demanding and exciting experiences of their lives, covering all kinds of lands across two continents. The Plateau de Rekam, the infinite slopes of Bouarfa or the majestic dunes of Merzouga have been some of the impressive territories that have been crossed. An experience in which Triumph, which continues to take steps in its firm commitment to off-road, has been more than victorious.

The effort and work of the drivers who faced this challenge on the back of their Triumphs has resulted in enormously positive results in a particularly tough edition . And although the difficulty of the route has taken its toll on part of the caravan, with several abandonments and re-enlistments in the following days, the four British mounts that have participated in the challenge have successfully completed it, highlighting the performance, resistance and mechanical reliability of the Tiger in the harshest conditions.

DOUBLE SUCCESS OF 25

Iván Cervantes, competing with his inseparable number 24, has won the first place on the Hard Trail podium , not only piloting with mastery, but also sailing with a very high degree of efficiency , since he has reached 95.5% of the maximum theoretical score in its category (it has achieved 1,390 points out of a possible 1,455, taking into account both the validated Waypoints and the penalties). And that Cervantes had not navigated with a roadbook since the Dakar 2018.

But in addition to his stupendous result, the Triumph flag bearer has taken on a far from easy challenge in this edition of 1000 Dunas since, together with Miguel Puertas, he acted as a coach and advisor to the rest of the riders. Thus, his day never ended when the motorcycles rested.

At that time, he took the opportunity to share experiences with the other pilots, amateurs and professionals , and to focus on the former, offering them tricks and advice , in order to improve their performance the next day and, ultimately, their experience.

With his Tiger 900 Rally Pro, the same one with which he participated in the Baja Aragón, already in the Parc Fermé, Cervantes took stock of the experience : “It has been an incredible adventure of more than 1,500 km. The performance of the bike has been perfect on all the terrains that we have encountered: gravel, sand, mud, rocks and river crossings; and once again we have been able to show how capable the Tiger 900 Rally Pro is. I would like to thank the Triumph Spain team for their constant support throughout the rally, as this has allowed me to focus on achieving the best possible result” .

MECHANIC ON THE PODIUM

For his part, Josu Orozko, riding a 2012 Tiger 800 XC, finished in a more than creditable third place in the Trail category. The amateur rider was the winner of the Triumph Scholarship |1000 Dunes and until now he had only participated in short off-road navigation tests, never in such a demanding raid.

The one from Bilbao became the protégé of Iván Cervantes, with whom he shared a tent and cabin, and who waited for him every day at the end of the stage to take an interest in him and help him face the next day. The ties between the two drivers became so close that Iván even gave him one of his tires and mounted it himself on Josu’s rim, who has discovered that in addition to being a brilliant driver, he is a formidable person.

Josu is the perfect example of how hard work and tenacity, along with some more than appreciated advice and a machine to trust, are key in a challenge like the 1000 Dunes. Already from home, Orozko declared: “It has been a very ‘heavy’ experience, I have lived very bad moments and very good ones. The body is falling apart for days, I think my bike was the oldest of all and navigation is very complicated, although there comes a time when you get the ‘feeling’ and that’s when you learn and really enjoy.

I still have a thorn in my side from an important mistake I made in stage 3 , but I can’t ask for more, since I managed to get a podium finish. I do not have enough words to thank Iván for everything he has helped me and I have also felt very supported by the Triumph Spain team. Everything has been amazing.”

For the rest of the Motociclismo article see here.

If you’re new to my page – it’s more than just dirt bike riding, Harleys and racing, I’m on a mission to prove that nothing is impossible if you want it bad enough. See more about my story plus read about my life changing accident, which started it all.

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