Destination of the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy 2020 revealed: Kia Ora – Welcome to New Zealand!

“Destination Paradise” is the motto of the seventh edition of the BMW
Motorrad International GS Trophy which will commence in early 2020.
Last night at 7pm (CET) BMW Motorrad revealed that the next Int. GS
Trophy will take place in New Zealand – just another dream destination
for most adventure riders worldwide. The participating nations now
face a busy time, hosting their qualifiers and selecting their teams
for this exciting and unique global adventure competition. 18
international teams, plus, as in the 2016 and 2018 editions, an
international female contingent will be selected during the next months.


Confirmed teams for 2020: 

Australia

China                  

Female Team(s)

France

India

Italy

Japan

Latin America

Malaysia/Philippines

Mexico

Middle East

Nordic (Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland)

North Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt)

Russia

South Africa

South Korea

Thailand

UK

USA


BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy Oceania
2020.
After the long days on the vast Mongolian Steppe
of the 2018 Central Asia edition, New Zealand is going to provide a
very different riding environment and experience for the qualifying GS
riders, as Ralf Rodepeter, Head of Marketing and Product Management
BMW Motorrad explains: “After Tunisia, Southern Africa, Patagonia,
Canada, Thailand and most recently Mongolia, BMW Motorrad were again
looking for a location that offers perfect ‘GS terrain’. Lots of legal
off-road kilometres are required, with demanding route profiles,
passing through fascinating landscapes and with plenty of exotic
flair. New Zealand is a perfect fit on those terms. The variety of
astounding landscapes from sea to volcanoes to high-altitude
mountains, combined with the most beautiful vegetation and the rich
Maori culture provide the perfect setting for what we think will be
one of the most exciting Int. GS Trophies ever held.


About New Zealand. 

New Zealand is located 1500
km east of Australia, in the Southern Pacific Ocean. There are two
main islands, North and South, plus a multitude of smaller islands
around the coastline. The combined landmass is approximately 270,000
sq km, which is slightly larger than say the UK, yet the population is
just 4.9 million compared to the UK’s 66 million.

Taking into account New Zealand’s significant urban populations
in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch this makes for a very
sparsely populated countryside and many regions of New Zealand can be
termed wilderness.

Geologically, New Zealand is positioned over the Pacific and
Indo-Australian tectonic plates so this leads to the presence of many
(active) volcanoes, geothermal regions plus an alpine mountain range
that reaches higher than 3700 metres. Seismic activity occurs periodically.

Positioned so remotely, much of New Zealand’s flora and fauna
have evolved in isolation over millennia so are unique to this
country. This includes the Kiwi bird, NZ’s national icon, which
quietly forages under the dense canopy of the island’s native forests
– which in turn are thousands of years old (with Kauri, Rimu and
Totara trees which in days past were valued for boat and house
building but today, like the Kiwi, are protected species).

The variation in the landscape is startling and the riders can
expect to experience everything from forests to deserts to mountains
probably all on the same day. Visiting in the antipodean summertime
temperatures should be similar to that of central Europe in August.

New Zealand is also rich in culture and that of the indigenous
Maori people – with strong principles of community and stunning arts
and crafts – is particularly unique and valued.


About the Intl. GS Trophy.

The International 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 New Zealand 2020 event is the seventh
edition of the International GS Trophy, the previous editions took
place in Central Asia (Mongolia) in 2018, South East Asia (Thailand)
in 2016, North America (Canada) in 2014, South America (Chile,
Argentina) in 2012, South Africa (SA, Swaziland, Mozambique) in 2010
and North Africa (Tunisia) in 2008. This edition will see 19 teams
– maybe even 20 – competing, meaning 54-57 riders, from around the world.

The event is not a race but a team competition, pitching the
GS-riding international contingent against each other in a series of
challenges – and not all involve riding. With the competitors camped
nightly in a bivouac, the event also fosters a sense of brotherhood,
sisterhood and camaraderie. Equally the GS Trophy is a celebration of
culture and nature, the riders learning about and understanding the
peoples and the terrains of the regions they encounter.  So the
successful team will be respectful of the environment, skillful and
sympathetic with their machinery and understanding of team-mates.


Follow the event.
In forthcoming press releases
BMW Motorrad will provide details on the GS motorcycles that will be
used, the equipment the participants will receive to help them through
the event, and more information on the participating countries and
teams selected.

During the event BMW Motorrad will provide a multi-channel media
experience, with outputs ranging from social media feeds to regular
written press releases to professionally shot and edited video
synopses of each day, full details of which will be released closer to
the time. For now you can find out more about the event and the teams
at the dedicated website
gstrophy.com.


You will find press material on BMW motorcycles and BMW Motorrad
rider equipment in the BMW Group PressClub at www.press.bmwgroup.com.


In case of queries, please contact:

Liane Drews, Communications BMW Motorrad

Tel.: +49 170-227-2147, Liane.Drews@bmw.de

Tim Diehl-Thiele, Head of Communications BMW Motorrad

Tel.: +49 151-601-57505, Tim.Diehl-Thiele@bmw.de


Internet: www.press.bmw.de

E-mail: presse@bmw.de

 



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