German GS Trophy Team Revealed!

As well as organising the inaugural international GS Trophy event this October, BMW Motorrad Deutschland has carried out its own team selection process in order to determine its national entry for the main event in Tunisia. These trials took place during a weekend of high-octane enduro riding at the Enduro Park Hechlingen at the recent GS Challenge 2008 event in Germany.

BMW Challenge rider on a F800GS takes on the balance beam

Between 31 July and 3 August around 100 off-road enthusiasts descended on the BMW Enduropark in Hechlingen to participate in the 2008 GS Challenge - the first to be staged in Germany. In recent years, the GS Challenge concept has proved popular in South Africa, Spain, Japan and Canada, and with the GS Trophy approaching, the format was seen as the best way to select Germany's team that will participate in the event.

The intention of the GS Challenge was to identify the three riders who would be best equipped to deal with the rigours of the GS Trophy. Taking place in Tunisia, the inaugural GS Trophy event will pit small teams of amateur riders from Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and the USA on identical BMW F 800 GS machines against one another, in various off-road challenges including special tests, teamwork exercises and problem solving tasks. This African adventure is not a race however, as hard work, technical riding skills, camaraderie and team spirit will be the most important elements for overall success.

So, with the prospect of a life-changing journey to North Africa in mind, the German candidates arrived in Hechlingen ready to prove their potential. The first day of the GS Challenge gave participants the chance to get to know their fellow competitors before the real action began on day two. To sample what will be on offer in Tunisia, attendees were given tents, material for a campfire and barbeque, as during the GS Trophy, luxuries will be at a minimum!

Before setting out for the first day of intense action, the riders were reminded that above all else, the GS Challenge was an experience to enjoy. Like the GS Trophy, the overall result would be judged on who displayed the most promising riding ability, general fitness and off-road skills, and not on who could complete the course in the fastest time.

Naturally, the riders who applied for selection displayed different skill and experience levels. To accommodate this and to make the event as fair as possible, the organisers devised three routes for the initial off-road assessments, each varying in difficulty. Occasional off-road riders with minimum experience were given the blue route, which was considered the least technical of the courses. For more experienced riders, the red and black routes delivered a more demanding challenge.

Throughout the day, special tests pushed the participants' ability to the limit. One of the most popular tests was `Okavango', a raft-building exercise where teams of six riders had to build a vessel to transport a motorcycle over a lake by paddle power alone. Then came the unforgettable `High Altitude' experience, which forced riders to confront dizzying heights on an assault course suspended high in the treetops.

Following more orienteering, off-road riding and technique assessments, the first day was complete and all that was left to do was to return to camp to discuss the strategy for day two, where the 20 participants who had accrued the most points on day one would compete on a challenging skills course deep in the Enduropark facility, to decide who would represent Germany at the GS Trophy.

After a closely fought second day, Florian Dietrich, Dirk Remmel and Alexander Metayer were declared the winners. The riders thrilled instructors and fellow competitors with their off-road mastery throughout the GS Challenge and can now look forward to travelling to Tunisia in October to make history at the first ever International GS Trophy. For the riders who didn't make it into the 2008 team, they departed the Enduropark with fantastic weekend of enduro riding fresh in their memory and the knowledge that they can return in 2009 to experience the GS Challenge all over again.

This feature originally appeared in August 2008 - Updated: 09/06/08