Munich. On Saturday 21 July 1993, the first off-road
enthusiasts turned up with their BMW motorcycles at an abandoned
quarry near Hechlingen am See in Middle Franconia for a enduro
training course. It was the start of a great success story. Since 25
years, off-road motorcyclists from all over the world have been
learning from experienced instructors how to ride safely and enjoyably
away from asphalted roads.
Today, BMW Motorrad Enduro Park Hechlingen is one of Europe’s
leading off-road training centres with approx. 250 training courses
and 3,650 participants per year. A local celebration was held last
Saturday, 21 July 2018, to mark the centre’s memorable anniversary.
Germany’s enduro El Dorado.
Enduro Park Hechlingen grew out of an idea that remains the
driving force behind BMW Motorrad to this day: MAKE LIFE A RIDE! To be
specific: the idea of enabling people to conceive of and embrace
motorcycling as an integral, all-round experience. In Hechlingen there
is a clear focus on the fascination of enduro and off-road riding.
Enduro enthusiasts from all over the world find their own personal
challenge here – from beginners right through to professionals. 26
hectares in size, the park comprises a challenging circuit that
includes steep slopes, gravel tracks, single trails, root-covered
forest tracks, ruts as well as climbs and descents.
With 3,650 participants in 2017 alone and more than 40,000 since
its foundation, Enduro Park Hechlingen is a central component of the
BMW Motorrad program of training courses and tours. The entire current
range of off-road BMW motorcycles is available to participants. The
park is also a platform for the creation and advancement of enduro
experience programs, as well as a centre of expertise in terms of
establishing globally valid standards. Thanks to the pioneering role
of Enduro Park Hechlingen, the off-road training courses offered at
numerous other enduro parks and the rigorous demands of official BMW
Motorrad partners providing these courses worldwide are clear USPs of
the overall BMW Motorrad training program.
Originally run by BMW Motorrad, since 2008 the centre has been
operated by Enduro Park Hechlingen GmbH under the direction of Manfred
Spitz, one of the first instructors. As an official BMW Motorrad
partner, Manfred Spitz and his team not only meet the very highest
standards in terms of the training program, the models available,
trained instructors and infrastructure: with their passion and
expertise, they are in fact crucial to the success of Enduro Park
Hechlingen, defining its pioneering international role.
At one with nature from the very beginning.
When it was opened in 1993, the Enduro Park was the first of
its kind – a genuine innovation. Clearly, a project of this kind was
only possible in harmony with the natural environment and of course
the local community: as the operator of the park at the time, BMW
Motorrad ensured good relations with the responsible environmental
authorities and communities from the very beginning.
A period of just under three years passed from the original idea
to the opening of the park since there was scepticism on the part of
official bureaucracy and environmentalists concerning the use of
motorcycles in a disused quarry. However, it quickly transpired that
Enduro Park Hechlingen was to become not just a playground for
“Homo Enduro” but also the ecological home to numerous
animal and plant species – documented officially and very precisely by
means of so-called “ecological evidence preservation”.
Weihenstephan-Triesdorf University of Applied Sciences also uses the
enduro park for excursions by students taking a degree in
environmental control, as part of the elective “Biotope
management and development/applied plant ecology”.
Enduro Park Hechlingen attaches great importance to the
preservation of species and their habitats. The distinctive feature of
the site is that although the quarry was no longer dedicated to its
original purpose, it was not simply left to develop naturally. If this
had been the case, all the various habitats that had formed as a
result of the quarry work would have developed into a limestone
forest. It was the preservation of pioneer grassland, dry grassland,
gravel plain and steep face habitats in the enduro park that enabled
such a diverse range of flora and fauna to become established in the
first place. The centre even went on to receive an award for its
exemplary synthesis of leisure activity and ecological compatibility
from the German Federal Ministry of the Environment as part of a
national environmental competition for nature reserves.
Today – 25 years later – Enduro Park Hechlingen is an integral
part of the region and reflects the close collaboration between BMW
Motorrad and local communities.
Today: the benchmark.
From a disused quarry with
an old converted hangar for the motorbikes, with beer benches as
furniture and lacking a water supply or changing rooms, the park has
developed into a top-class location for off-road training. With nearly
4,000 participants per year, Enduro Park Hechlingen is today the
pioneer and flagship among the BMW Motorrad Enduro Parks, embodying
the integrated premium experience offered by BMW Motorrad partners
worldwide. Yet despite all the consummate professionalism, it is the
bubbling enthusiasm among staff and participants and the family-like
atmosphere at the park that are particularly striking. Not only that:
in addition to the fun of “playing in the mud” on a GS,
participants get to discover more about themselves and their bike –
and they always gain greater motorcycling confidence in road traffic, too.
Here’s to the next 25 years!
After 25 years both BMW Motorrad and the operators
still have future visions regarding the park’s development. Currently
various expansion and extension possibilities are discussed. Everyone
is convinced: the BMW Motorrad Enduro Park Hechlingen has the
potential to maintain his position as leading off-road training centre
also for the upcoming 25 years.
Facts and figures
- 26 ha basic area
- approx. 45 km of trails
- more than 40,000 participants (1993 – 2018)
- approx. 250 training courses per year
- more than 50 employees run the training courses and workshops
- approx. 420 tyre changes per year
- more than 400 clutch/brake levers broken off per season
For an overview of BMW Motorrad off-road training programs and
certified BMW Motorrad partners, see:
http://www.bmw-motorrad.com/com/de/fascination/riding_experience/offroad_training/main.html
You will find press material on BMW motorcycles as well as BMW
Motorrad rider equipment and Original BMW Motorrad Accessories in the
BMW Group PressClub at www.press.bmwgroup.com.
In case of queries please contact:
Liane Drews, BMW Motorrad Communications
Telephone: +49 89
382-60964, e-mail: liane.drews@bmw.de
Markus Sagemann, Head of Product and Lifestyle Communications
MINI, BMW Motorrad
Tel.: +49 89 382-68796, e-mail: Markus.Sagemann@bmw.de
The BMW Group
With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW
Motorrad, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of
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In 2017, the BMW Group sold over 2,463,500 passenger vehicles and
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