After two days bivouaced at Mae Sariang, it was back to life on
the road today with the riders striking camp early, enjoying a hot
breakfast, filling their hydration systems to the brim with water
(with mineral additives) and then grabbing a lunch bag to stow in
their tail packs. With a long day’s ride ahead, it was vital to put
some kilometres behind them while the sun was still low in the sky.
Making progress was the order of the day if the finish was to be
reached before sundown – and it was a close-run thing. Early trails
were slow, technical single-track through a proverbial jungle, with
precipitous descents and tricky climbs.
As with every day, the riders were exploring remote regions,
repeatedly passing traditional stilt-house villages, every
ride-through creating a mayhem of scattering dogs, chickens, ducks,
pigs – and even buffalo. A centuries-old canvas. Later the trail
became more open, but hard-pack clay riven with washouts, rocks and
dusted with loose stone made the riding both exacting and tiring.
Hour after hour this continued, through remote valleys and along the
ridges of 1500m mountains with only the special tests to break the
never-ending effort.
After 85 kilometres – but four hours of riding – the competitors
arrived at the first Special of the day – ‘Big Buffalo’ – a relay
exercise where each team rider needed to ride fast and then make a
sharp turn (to avoid the buffalo of course!) before returning to the
start line to tag their team-mate. When the times were added up,
Team South Africa were clear winners and showed the rest of the
competitors exactly how to avoid a painful encounter with the famous
Thai water buffaloes.
Another 100 kilometres of scenic, but tough riding led to the
next test situated at the entrance to the Obluang National Park.
This was a navigation test, where the teams were given a GPS unit
and a waypoint. If entered into the GPS correctly, this led to
another waypoint, each waypoint rewarded by a letter – and the next
waypoint destination. When the teams had located all waypoints and
collected all letters, they could then join the letters together to
form the word to give to the marshal – proof they’d correctly found
all waypoints – and the clock could then be stopped.
The teams that had practised navigation exercises in advance
were quick to complete this Special, while some of the others could
be seen scratching their heads and searching the undergrowth for
vital clues. Fitness played a part, too, because running around a
steep, wooded valley in full riding gear in temperatures in the high
30s certainly took its toll. Not so for Team UK, who were the
quickest in this information gathering exercise.
After again filling their hydration packs to the brim, the
riders set off again, as they still had another 100 kilometres to go
until arriving at the bivouac. The sun had descended behind the
mountains as the leading group of riders rolled up to camp, while
the later arrivals needed their head-torches in order to pitch their
tents.
Perhaps the most eagerly-awaited announcement at dinner was the
results of the second photo competition, where precious points were
‘up for grabs’ depending on how successfully the teams had engaged
with their communities, following the GS Trophy from back home. A
massive 41,561 votes were cast in the short window of opportunity,
with newcomers Team China winning the second competition with an
impressive 7,603 fans rating their picture as the favourite. All
photos and votes can be viewed at www.gstrophy.com.
Of course, the points of the day were also announced and showing
studied consistency, it is South Africa who still lead the way over
Germany and the UK, although with only 27 points separating the top
five, the 2016 GS Trophy is still very much there for the taking.
With two days of competition remaining, the teams that keep a cool
head under pressure have a real chance to take the title back home
with them.
Catch all the latest updates online at gstrophy.com and also via
YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Results BMW Motorrad Int. GS Trophy 2016 Day Five:
1 South
Africa 214 pts.
2
Germany 200 pts.
3 UK
194 pts.
4 Latin America
190 pts.
5 China
187 pts.
6 CEEU
178 pts.
7 Brazil
177 pts.
8 USA
163 pts.
9 Mexico
147 pts.
10 Argentina
144 pts.
11 France
141 pts.
12 Russia
138 pts.
13 Italy
133 pts.
14 Canada
126 pts.
15 South Korea
120 pts.
16 South East Asia
101 pts.
17 Japan
94 pts.
18 International Female Team 89 pts.
19 Alps
83 pts.
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 30 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 2014 was approximately € 8.71 billion on revenues
amounting to € 80.40 billion. As of 31 December 2014, the BMW Group
had a workforce of 116,324 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