Munich.
Michael Martin has been travelling to the most distant corners
of the earth for more than 30 years now and has become the world’s
most renowned desert photographer. It was 25 years ago that the
qualified geographer chose the motorcycle as his preferred
expedition vehicle, actually a BMW R 100 GS, on which he undertook
the Transafrica trip from Kenya to Cape Town.
“To me the motorcycle seemed to be the ideal means of transport
for going on my long-haul adventure travels to the most remote parts
of our planet. Compared to a car, it is very light and agile and
narrow enough to travel even on narrow paths. It was thanks to the
great enthusiasm of two BMW employees for Africa that my touring
companions and I were able to set off on our dream motorcycle, the
BMW R 100 GS. We were overjoyed. And then we even managed to
convince Lufthansa to fly our machines to Nairobi free of charge.
From there we started out on our first big project”, recalls the
53-year old.
Stephan Schaller, President BMW Motorrad: “Michael Martin and
the BMW GS have been a dream couple for 25 years, a combination
which could not be any more successful. Michael Martin’s work is
unique worldwide and the demands he places on his expedition vehicle
impressively show you well suited a BMW GS is for precisely this
purpose. We are very happy that the partnership between Michael
Martin and BMW Motorrad has been so successful for the last 25 years
and look forward to continuing it.”
Exploring Africa was something Michael Martin simply wasn’t able
to resist. In 1995 and 1998 he went on expeditions to the Nile and
to the deserts of Africa. Now he was already in the saddle of an R
1100 GS.
“It was during this time I decided to concentrate above all on
the topic of deserts. In 2000 I then began the project ‘Deserts of
the Earth’. This time I was riding an R 1150 GS, which had once
again improved on its predecessor’s qualities”, recalls Michael Martin.
In 2009 Michael Martin went travelling and photographing for his
new project “Desert Planet”, now on an R 1200 GS Adventure which was
virtually created for just such extreme demands. Because this time
around Michael Martin not only explored the dry deserts, but also
cold and ice deserts in the Arctic and Antarctic. Since then he has
undertaken more than 40 voyages and expeditions. The resulting
“Desert Planet” project is presented in multivision format, as a
photo book, as a TV Series and in the form of an exhibition.
Michael Martin begins his “Desert Planet” presentation
tour on 22 October 2016 and will be performing his
fascinating multivision show until April 2017 in more than 100
German and 10 Austrian cities. For further information and ticket
bookings please go to www.michael-martin.de.
You will find press material on BMW motorcycles and BMW Motorrad
rider equipment in the BMW Group PressClub atwww.press.bmwgroup.com.
In case of queries please contact:
Rudolf-Andreas Probst, Communication BMW Motorrad
Tel.:
+49 89 382-22088,
Fax:
+49 89 382-28567
Markus Sagemann, Head of Product and Lifestyle Communication
MINI, BMW Motorrad
Tel.:
+49 89 382-68796,
Fax:
+49 89 382-23927
Internet: www.press.bmw.de
E-mail: presse@bmw.de
The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the
world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles
and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global
company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities
in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and
nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the
financial year 2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on revenues
amounting to € 92.18 billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group
had a workforce of 122,244 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term
thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established
ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain,
comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to
conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/BMWGroup
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/BMWGroup
YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/BMWGroupview
Google+:
http://googleplus.bmwgroup.com