BMW GS TROPHY 2016

[totalmotorcycle]

$BMW GS TROPHY #2016

Adventure, foreign cultures, new friendships, gravel, sand and dust make BMW Motorrad's International GS
Trophy an Enduro challenge that is second to none. International teams compete in intensive daily stages as
well as numerous special challenges. This also applied to the International GS Trophy 2016, which took place
in spring in the impressive landscape of Southeast Asia.



7 ADVENTUROUS DAYS IN THAILAND



It's hard to believe but after seven days of thrilling competition, the 2016 BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy is finally over. Team South Africa have been crowned champions, the celebration party lasted well into the night and the following morning, teams and riders said their emotional farewells as they packed away tents for the last time and made preparations for their journeys home. For many though, this was not the end, but just the beginning...

The winning trio of John Harris, Byron Coetsee, and Charl Moolman will return home as heroes in their BMW Motorrad communities, and surely inspire the next generation of South African GS riders to start practicing now for their chance to represent the 'Rainbow Nation' at the next Trophy and of course try to retain the coveted title.

Team Germany and Team UK will no doubt be proud of pushing Team South Africa all the way, but also fighting neck and neck with each other before finally sharing second place – a massive achievement in itself, given the high level of all the competitors.

Although the 'GS Girls' didn't finish as high up the rankings as they had hoped, the International Female team can take heart in the fact that they have made International GS Trophy history and impressed every single competitor, marshal, journalist and organization team member with their positive attitude, never-say-die heroics and fantastic riding skills. Thanks to Stefanie Bouisson, Morag Campbell and Amy Harburg, women GS riders around the world now believe that anything is possible, so just watch the community grow even bigger as a result of these three women's efforts – and let's hope this is just the beginning of a long and wonderful success story for women in motorcycling. Judging by the support they have received from all over the world, we believe this is a foregone conclusion.

While the international battles were raging in the heat and dust of Thailand's Golden Triangle region, what was notable at this latest GS Trophy was the huge increase in fans and enthusiasts following every step of the competition online. This was particularly evident during public voting for the two photo competitions and reflected throughout the social media networks, which were buzzing with requests for more information, latest points scores, information on the areas visited, and much more. Thanks to a hard-working media team, including film-makers, photographers, journalists and bloggers, never before was the Trophy story spread so far and wide – and so quickly.

The great news, of course, is that although the GS Trophy is over for now, fans can still relive all the highlights online. Daily reports and rankings can be read on the news pages of the gstrophy.com website; daily highlights films can be viewed at youtube.com/bmwmotorrad; and the brand's Facebook and Instagram channels allow users to catch up with all the postings, comments and reaction to the 2016 event.