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From the 16th to the 18th of May, Tampico was the site for a Formula One boat racing competition named “Champboat Grand Prix Tampico 2002”. It was held at the Laguna del Carpintero (Carpenter’s Lagoon) as is the first of ten races that complete the formula and the internationally experienced pilots, being Carlos Kuri the only Mexican pilot, that in addition contributed a lot to make Tampico one of the sites for these type of races in our country. The event in Tampico has been an achievement for the Mexican Champ-class boat races, being Mexico the only Latin American country that is included in these events since the other nine are held in the United States and Canada. These series represent the highest level of competition for outboard boat racing in the world. The tunnel type boats of this series can accelerate from zero to 100 miles/hr and reach a speed of 130 miles/hr.
It is worth mentioning that Tampico is an ideal scenery for the boat races for the environment that offers, being the Laguna del Carpintero one of the only two racetracks in Mexico sanctioned by the U.I.M. (Union Internationale Motonautique). In addition to being a natural stadium in the center of the city, where not only one can stop to watch the event, it also has an extensive area to be used as pits for the boats. Another advantage that Tampico offers is that the European competitors can send their boats by ship to the port of Altamira and the Americans can do it by land being so near to the United States border. With a great number of fans that arrived to watch this magnificent event, it started with the category SST 120 that was won by Vincent Voisin. Later, the turbine U and B, boat that raise a large water stream at the rear of the boat and a loud noise from their engines that added a special touch to the joust.
The event for the title of the first race of the ChampBoat Series Grand Prix Tampico 2002 took place on Sunday, May 18th. The experienced pilots had to circumvent 50 laps with their potent “tunnels” racing at speeds higher than 240 km/hr, crowning himself as champion the American pilot Mike Seebold with a distance of 124.345 miles in the 50 laps while the hometown favorite, Carlos Kuri of Mexico City, suffered an accident that made he finished the race with a hole in his boat and his emergency flotation air bag deployed above his boat. He finished 13th with a sinking boat that had to be towed to the ramp by the rescue team. The magnificent organization of the event was managed by a private company in coordination with the local government of Tampico, proof that the city is prepared to organize any type of events. According to statements made by Carlos Kuri, the pilots were fascinated by the Laguna del Carpintero since they did not foresee such scenery and now it is considered among the best in the world. We are sure that these series will give an international projection not only to the port of Tampico but also to the Champ-class boat races and that it will be promoted in Europe with the hope that a match for the world championship between the two continents takes place.
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Articles from our 14th Edition Tampico, victim of Pirates, Bucaneers, and Privateers
León Trotsky in Tampico
Tampico Wakeboard City
Tajín Summit
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