If you ride an adventure bike you will have, at some point, heard of the GS Trophy. For those that haven’t, this is a legendary seven-day challenge where teams from different countries take part in a race against each other, in the most beautiful countries around the world, while journeying across rugged rocks, sand and muddy trial challenges. It is the ultimate test of man and adventure machine, but it too requires great skill and above all, genuine team spirit.
With there being so much hype in the BMW community around the GS Trophy returning to Africa (Namibia) for the ninth edition of the event, BMW Motorrad and their dealers have been organising events to help showcase the skills and mentality needed to take part. One of the first dealers to jump onto the bandwagon was BMW Motorrad Centurion, a dealer that is known for hosting awesome events.
This past Saturday saw a variety of riders line up at “Bavarian” to join Warren Venter, a member of the 2022 winning team for an introduction to the GS Trophy as well as some skill challenges that will be testing riders at the upcoming regional qualifiers. With this once-in-a-lifetime experience just around the corner, riders were showing up as early as 8:30 for warm cups of coffee and the day’s briefing. Riders then made their way to the testing grounds across the road for the skill challenges.
Warren, Country Trax Instructors and the BMW Motorrad team, really had their work cut out for them with a long line of adventure and GS Trophy fanatics, all lining up behind the cones. The team guided riders through the challenges, which quickly helped riders understand how well-prepared they would have to be before even considering going to the qualification rounds—riders found that they would need to become one with their machine, almost thinking of their motorcycle as an extra limb.
What Warren kept mentioning to the riders, is how winning isn’t the main objective. He says, “It’s about being a team player, sharing your experience and uplifting the spirits within the team.” This is all true, one can learn a lot from his or her riding mates and a good mentality can help you achieve what you thought may not be achievable.
For those of you who possess the drive to enter the iconic GS Trophy for 2024 in Namibia, keep an eye out on the 15 national qualifying rounds as these rounds will be the crucial decider in choosing the 22 teams that will compete. What’s great to see is that out of the 22 teams, six will be all-female teams.
Based on the experience of past GS Trophy events, the most successful teams are ultimately those that demonstrate solid preparation, excellent teamwork and riding ability. So, if there were any notes to be taken it would be: improve your riding, social, mechanical and mental skills for the upcoming qualifiers.
So, there you have it, if you find yourself twiddling your fingertips and don’t know where to ride or what to do, keep an eye on our Biking Events calendar as we try to update you on all the local rides and events that are taking place throughout the year.
