Spanish GS Trophy final team now selected!

Back in June, the first round of BMW Motorrad Spain’s Desafio GS (Spanish GS Challenge) took place at Teruel in the north-east of the country. Fifty-seven GS lovers with their own bikes registered to take part and all of them had the same objective – to be one of the 18 best participants to make it through to compete in the second round of the Desafio GS, scheduled for 10-12 September at the Encuentro BMWRIDERS 2010 event in Formigal. From these final 18, just three riders would be selected for a place on the Spanish team to represent their country in the International GS Trophy in South Africa in November.

Last weekend, the final stage of this GS Challenge was held in Formigal, where 18 nervous riders assembled to compete against each other to be one of the lucky three selected to attend the forthcoming GS Trophy in Africa and, of course, to represent Spain against teams from the USA, UK, Japan, Scandinavia, Canada, Germany and Italy. In a wonderful location with superb weather and 2,500 bikers who had come to watch the proceedings, the 18 participants assembled in the GS Challenge tent early in on the morning of Saturday 11 September. After a full briefing, everyone knew what they would have to overcome during this arduous selection process where 15 of the 18 riders wouldn’t make the final cut… However, all participants were eager to start their GS bikes and begin with the first Skills Test that consisted of tackling a series of complicated obstacles, against the clock. The second test saw the participants having to climb a mountain ski track, although it wasn’t about reaching to the top in the quickest time, because the winner would be the one who controlled their speed within a certain set of time parameters. After they reached the top, they had to then ride down the mountain as quickly as possible – but this time using Trek mountain bikes, instead of their motorcycles. After this series of challenges was competed, the Team Test was waiting for the participants. As the tension mounted and the adrenaline flowed, the 18 contestants were divided up into groups of three, who then had the unenviable task of pushing a motorcycle all the way to the kart circuit in as short a time as possible.

Although exhausted by now, there was no time for rest, because the contestants still had to tackle the Mechanical Test, which consisted of removing and replacing the front wheel of an F 800 GS, working as a team and completing the task as quickly as possible. At noon, all the bikes were equipped with the BMW Motorrad Navigator IV and each participant had to then find given ‘waypoints’ along the Valley of Formigal. To avoid competing against time on public roads and at all times respecting the traffic rules, participants had to show the coordinates of the waypoints they had found.
 
Once all tests had been completed, the scores were entered into a computer that calculated which three participants were going to be chosen to contest the International GS Trophy 2010 on behalf of BMW Motorrad Spain. It was then down to Juan Luis Fernandez de la Llama, BMW Motorrad Spain Director, to announce the lucky winners, who were Jaime Saiz Cuena, David Borcha Mateo and Arturo Lupón Pallas. These three will be making the journey all the way to South Africa in November, where their biggest GS Challenge will begin.