BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy Southeast Asia 2016.

The GS has been close to our heart at BMW for 35 years, ever since we
debuted the first R 80 G/S in 1980. That G/S and subsequent GS models
have proven their rugged go-anywhere capability by carrying their
owners reliably across every continent, on road and track,
collectively for millions of miles. Of course todays´ GS motorcycles
feature state-of-the-art technology, but it’s the connection that the
GS allows between the rider and his environment that makes them so
special. This gift for connection and discovery has made the GS more
than just a motorcycle. It’s a bike that’s created a worldwide
community, and it’s brought the many cultures of this world into the
lives of so many owners.

The BMW Motorrad GS Trophy is intended to celebrate this capability
and extraordinary relationship. Bigger than ever, with 19 teams
competing – comprising 57 riders and 19 embedded journalists – the GS
Trophy will offer seven very intense days of competition that will
challenge the riders’ riding skills and their wider qualities – their
practical skills, their problem solving and importantly their
teamwork. Even competing teams will find they have to come together,
to form working relationships and friendships, to succeed.

 

This edition set in Northern Thailand is a new chapter as for the
first time we venture onto the Asian continent and into the Tropics. I
am sure that every one of the riders – man and woman – will thoroughly
enjoy their experiences, and no doubt will immediately be sharing
those experiences with the world through social networking while
looking forward to returning home with fantastic stories to tell in
the old fashioned way.

‘Make life a ride’ is our maxim at BMW Motorrad, but on this occasion
we’re hoping the riders will experience the ride of a lifetime.

Heiner Faust Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing BMW Motorrad

 

BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy Southeast Asia 2016.

  

What is the BMW Motorrad GS Trophy?

The GS Trophy is a celebration of the spirit of the BMW GS
motorcycle, bringing together those elements of leisure, adventure and
challenge that this bike engenders. The Southeast Asia 2016 event is
the fifth edition of the GS Trophy, the previous editions took place
in Canada in 2014, South America in 2012, Southern Africa in 2010 and
Tunisia in 2008. This edition will see 19 teams, comprising 57 riders
from 25 nations, competing.

The GS Trophy riders will on this occasion be challenged to riding
the tight snaking trails through the densely forested regions of the
hill district of Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand. The event is not a
race but a team competition, pitching the international contingent
against each other in a series of special tests – not all are riding
tests. With the competitors camped nightly in a bivouac the event also
fosters a sense of brotherhood – and for the first time sisterhood –
and camaraderie.

GS Trophy sportive director Tomm Wolf:

“This will be a very different GS Trophy: no mountain pistes, no
vast plateaux, no veldt, no dunes, and – after Canada – no snow! We
can expect temperatures in the high 30s (degrees Celsius), high
humidity and we’ll be riding tight single-track trails through the
forests. It’ll be slower, but hotter and more technical.

“Culturally this will be an exciting experience. This is a
Buddhist region with wonderful gentle people – not to mention an
incredible reputation for cuisine. Temples and Tom Kha Gai (spicy
chicken soup)! I’ve fallen in love with the region, with the people –
I expect the GS Trophy riders will too!”

When does it take place?

The event begins on February 26, 2016 when the competitors will
arrive at the event HQ in Chiang Mai for a programme of rider
briefings, bike allocations and media meetings. The competition itself
will start at 08:00 am on February 28 and ends on March 5.

  

The location.

The riders of the GS Trophy will be riding through the hilly,
sometimes mountainous and often forested regions that surround Chiang
Mai in the very northernmost region of Thailand, about 500 miles north
of Bangkok. Chiang Mai is known as the cultural capital of Northern
Thailand, made famous for the many Buddhist temples to be found in the
city and surrounding region – this is a region with a history of
spiritualism thousands of years old. But the region is also known for
its beautiful highland scenery and the GS Trophy riders will – when
not being dealing with the challenges of the course and special tests
– enjoy such splendid vistas such as those found in the glorious Doi
Inthanon National Park as well as natural attractions such as the
waterfalls and thermal hot springs as found near the small town of Pai
– closer to the border with Myanmar. Bathing may well on the minds of
many riders as they can expect daytime temperatures to averaging
around 35ºC and as this is a period before the annual rains it’s most
like to be dry and dusty too.

Tomm Wolf: “As for the tracks we will ride on, yes they should
be dry and probably quite dusty, but much smaller than those we
encountered in Canada and South America. There will be more single
track, up-and-down, enduro-type trails, rather than the huge forest
roads of the previous GS Trophy. The speeds will definitely be lower
and the trails will be more challenging to ride, but extremely nice.”

 

The Challenge.

The GS Trophy is not a race. But it is a competition and so the teams
will be tested, not only in their riding skills, but in broader
challenges that will fully engage their intellectual as well as
physical capacities.

With overnight bivouacs followed by early starts and long days in the
saddles –start times are between 07:00 and 08:00 with schedule
finishes at 17:00, and with so much of the riding on single-track,
endurance will be a significant factor in the event. Along the route
the competitors will also face up to three special tests per day
(details of which will be revealed as the competitors meet them for themselves).

The successful team will be respectful of their environment,
sympathetic to their machinery and understanding of team-mates.