Pelorus Bridge, New Zealand. Today’s stage was something of a liaison
as the 2020 BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy transitioned from the
North Island to the South Island of New Zealand. The GS riders had
interpreted this as a chance to rest and recharge their batteries,
only with a 3:30 am call to breakfast – so as to catch the early
inter-island ferry – they soon realised, like Int. GS Trophy riders
before them, that there really is no rest in this competition until
the finish.
Nonetheless, today was a great opportunity for the GS riders to share
experiences, as with three hours on the ferry they had plenty of time
for inter-team chats. Albeit that was after they had completed their
first challenge of the day – the ‘40 years of GS Quiz’ in which they
were tested on their knowledge of this iconic motorcycle that has
become so much more than just a brand. In fact it was a ferry ride in
three parts: knowledge test, sleep and sight seeing, the latter coming
as the ferry made its way down the spectacular Queen Charlotte Sound
to the port of Picton.
In Picton the GS Trophy riders created a stir as all 140 F 850 GS
motorcycles disembarked the ferry together, followed by the vast
entourage of cars and trucks that support the event. Once out of
Picton – which took all of two minutes, it’s that small – the GS
riders enjoyed a scenic ride through the Marlborough Sounds. Although
this region is world famous for its wine production, the route
followed the national park trail along the sounds and then up into the
valleys before reaching the small town of Havelock (population: 486)
where the GS riders gratefully stopped for a coffee break, or maybe
for something cooler as the temperature was uncharacteristically
hovering around a sweltering 30ºC. From here it was a short ride to
Pelorus Bridge where they found their campsite set deep in a forest,
one which was again peppered with New Zealand natives such as totara,
beech and rimu.
Even the early afternoon finish was not an opportunity to rest as the
GS riders found two more challenges waiting for them. First was the
‘GPS Challenge’ in which the teams took their BMW Motorrad Navigator
VI GPS units and had to find their way – on foot – through the forest
to find another Navigator VI unit from which they extracted data to be
reported to the marshal at the end of the challenge. Warm work,
running through the forest in the heat of the afternoon.
No sooner had they finished this, than the riders were shepherded to
the ‘Metzeler Challenge’ where they needed to demonstrate their
prowess with the tools, changing the rear wheel on their F 850 GS.
Again, as this was against the clock the teams needed to have intimate
knowledge of the wheel spacers, chain run and brake arrangement if
they were to set a fast time.
So the event has reached its halfway point and while the competition
is hotting up, particularly with the top three being so close on
points, the going from here is set to get progressively more testing
with big days ahead in the big country. It’s going to be the strong
and the skilled who’ll prevail.
Finally, as if there could be any more to do, this evening the teams
submitted their images for the second GS Trophy photo contest. Public
voting for the photo competition will open at 00:00 (GMT+13 New
Zealand time) on February 13 and remains open for 24 hours. Go to www.gstrophy.com
for full details on how to vote.
Rider Quotes:
Jaap van Hoofwegen, Team Netherlands:
“We’ve had a great start to the competition. It’s an amazing
experience, meeting new people every day and riding through incredible
scenery. This is the first Int. GS Trophy for the Netherlands and we
were hoping to do well, so we’re actually quite chuffed with how we
are doing. Today we have had what’s been described as something of a
rest day, but we’d have to say setting your alarm for 3:30 am to pack
your tent does not feel like resting! Anyway, we’re looking forward to
the second half of the competition where we expect the temperatures to
get cooler – maybe! – the scenery to get bigger and the challenges tougher.”
Ronnie Lundberg, Team Nordic:
“This is our first Int. GS Trophy since 2010, so it’s great to be
here. We are enjoying every second of it, it’s been great riding on
the beaches and making friends from around the world. The scenery is
amazing. On day one we said, ‘woah, this is the best scenery we’ve
ever seen!’ but our marshal said ‘wait, it gets better’. And he was
right, every day is more magnificent. And the bike, the F 850 GS, we
love the bike – the suspension, the power, the way it’s so narrow,
it’s great in the gravel, great on the road, across everything as GS
stands for. It’s a sport bike, it’s an everything-you-want bike!”
Assada Porananond, Team Thailand
“I’m Team Thailand’s journalist. It’s been very exciting, my three
guys are having a very unique experience. They’re also feeling
exhausted, because of the change of temperature from day to night –
they’re not used to the cold nights and mornings. Right now they are
asleep on the top deck of the ferry, hopefully getting their energy
back ready for what’s to come, which we understand will be more
adventurous still! We love riding with the other teams, we are not the
best with the English language but motorcycling – and the GS – is a
common passion and that breaks down the barriers. And the SENA
communications units have really helped us, we can talk all the time!”
BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy 2020 Oceania.
Day 4 overall standings:
1 France 226
2 South Africa 223
3 Italy 211
4 South Korea 199
5 Netherlands 189
6 Russia 188
7 Brazil 175
8 Middle East 170
9 USA 165
10 Australia 160
11 Latin America 158
12 Argentina 155
13 UK 139
14 Mexico 138
15 India 129
16 Japan 127
17 Thailand 124
18 Nordic 123
19 Malaysia 115
20 North Africa 93
21 Int. Female Team I 89
22 Int. Female Team II 52
The event’s excitement will also be relayed with much more
information of a more informal kind via BMW Motorrad’s social media sources:
BMW Motorrad Facebook www.facebook.com/bmwmotorrad
Twitter www.twitter.com/bmwmotorrad (#gstrophy)
YouTube www.youtube.com/bmwmotorrad
Instagram www.instagram.com/bmwmotorrad
“RIDE AND TALK – The BMW Motorrad Podcast”
Watch out for more information on the BMW Motorrad International GS
Trophy 2020 – brought to you directly from New Zealand!
In case of queries, please contact:
Tim Diehl-Thiele, Head of Communications BMW Motorrad Tel.: +49 151
601 57505, Tim.Diehl-Thiele@bmw.de
Ingo Wirth, Head of Communications MINI and BMW Motorrad Tel.: +49 89
382 25814, Ingo.Wirth@bmw.de
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