BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy 2024 Namibia. Day 1. A clean GS is a dirty shame

AutoMotions

The 9th BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy began with a beautiful African sunrise. After breaking camp, the riders packed their gear into bags, which were later transported to the next camp. As is tradition, 2 or 3 teams were randomly selected to handle the task of loading the bags onto the transportation truck. After a hearty breakfast, the moment everyone had been eagerly anticipating arrived. Stefanie Grund, Senior Project Manager of the event, waved the checkered flag, signaling the start of this year's adventure riding event. At 7:45 am local time, Team Brazil, the International Female Team, and Female Team Japan crossed the start line to cheers from the crowd.  The competitors formed groups of 7-9 motorcycles and, guided by their appointed Marshals, embarked on the first day and first Special Challenge. Only a few kilometers away from the Midgard Country Estate Lodge, still within its perimeter, the riders faced their first Special Challenge.

Transcript

00:00Good morning and welcome to day one of the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy in Namibia.

00:21Sun has risen, the competitors are ready, and in just a few minutes the first teams

00:24will be rolling out for what is going to be a long and challenging day.

00:28270 kilometers, most of it off-road, two special stages, stay tuned for the action.

00:44Just a short ride from camp, the teams have already found themselves at the first special stage.

00:49It's called the Namibia Welcome Trial.

00:53Go!

00:56Much like observed trials, this is trials for big bikes.

00:59The teams are competing as groups, and their deducted points for crossing borders, for dabs, for dropping a bike,

01:04and they need to complete the entire course and ring a bell in under four minutes.

01:09Yeah, I won!

01:20Now we're faced with a tricky uphill situation.

01:23We have loose rock, loose gravel, deep sand, and it's steep.

01:27Some of the team members may struggle.

01:39We need that speed!

01:51For our next special of the day, we have the Akrapovic Enduro Challenge.

01:55Now it's the dry season here in Namibia.

01:57This is the country with the driest rainy season in recorded history,

02:00and for this challenge the competitors are being thrown into this riverbed

02:04that has months of deep sand and silt deposited in it.

02:07They're going to have to navigate a course, and they'll be penalized for crossing the borders of the course,

02:11they'll be penalized for DNF, and they're also penalized for time.

02:15They've got five minutes to complete the course, and the clock doesn't stop until the last rider is crossed.

02:21The finish. Like the sand. That's all around me.

02:33Go, go, go!

02:37Go, go, go!

03:00Good job.

03:08Go, go, go!

03:25Here at IAIBA, the competitors in the BMW Motorrad GS Trophy in Namibia have completed day one of competition,

03:32and today's 270 kilometers had all the challenges you could imagine.

03:37But it's only day one, so it's anyone's game.

03:41And the teams are super excited to find out where they stand on the leaderboard.

03:46I'm excited too.

03:48Let's go check out the scores.

04:02Go, go, go!

Category

Transcript

Comments

Recommended