While Hotcars is more synonymous with 4 wheeled rides - well, sometimes three - we love motorcycles too. Hell, we love anything from one wheel on up to infinity! BMW Motorrad, the motorcycle division of BMW, is preparing to run the seventh annual BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy competition in New Zealand in February 2020. It's a grueling race that pits riders against the elements for 10 days and over a 1,000 miles with elevation changes and wild temperature swings through and sand, mountains, and fog.
BMW Motorrad recently held tryouts for the 2019 Female Team Qualifier near Malaga, Spain with 31 women representing 20 countries. While they initially reserved three spots for women comprising one team, that was doubled to six women in two teams due to the grit, quality, and competition of the assembled pool. This year the women qualifiers are Isabella Londono Rivas from Colombia, Nikki van der Spek from the Netherlands, Claire Bichard from France, Andrea Box from Australia and Klara Finkele from the United Kingdom.
Lisa Taylor from the USA was also included, commenting "...[t]his is incredible and I’m in disbelief, thrilled to bits and excited...this has given me the gumption to travel internationally some more and get immersed in different cultures and peoples. But for now I have to prepare for New Zealand so I’m just going to keep on riding – make life a ride, for sure!" Sounds like fun, and a ringing endorsement of what BMW is doing.
Indeed, ever since the event was open to women in 2015, the amount of enthusiasm in the GS Trophy has skyrocketed. The raw interest in the event on social media is clearly evident, according to BMW, and the pool and quality of riders has shot up as well. And this is no cake walk either. The qualifying rounds are full of off-bike study and discussion along with several days of riding to holistically assess each rider. Competition is stiff and the tests are meant to reproduce conditions that riders will face in the actual event.
BMW loves it too because it's a great way to showcase their bikes. In this case the GS line, which is suited for off-road adventures. Long known for their reliability, ruggedness, adaptability, and good looks, the GS line has been behind countless round the world travels. Offering everything from their introductory class bike, the G 310 GS, on up to the range topping R 1250 GS Adventure, the BMW GS-line has something for everyone. Buckle up.
(via BMW)