Adventurers, rejoice: The picturesque subtropical Namibia, located on the Atlantic coast in southwestern Africa, will host the 2024 GS Trophy competition, according to an official announcement from BMW Motorrad. The biannual GS Trophy is returning to Africa, where the two-wheel off-road race made its debut some 15 years ago, after a frenetic couple of years that included locations as far-flung as Mongolia, Chile, and New Zealand.
Riders in the know are aware that the International GS Trophy is likely the pinnacle of enthusiast rallies, at least among adventure riders and without a doubt when it comes to BMW’s internal competitions. It offers breathtaking scenery in far-off places along with world-class routes and difficult riding challenges. No professional riders are permitted; this is only a competition between BMW owners/riders testing their riding prowess, survival skills, and navigational abilities against other enduro aficionados. It’s all aimed to demonstrate the versatility and range of the brand’s GS bikes.
The first GS Trophy was held in Tunisia back in 2008, and the last Trophy was held in Albania in 2022. As a result, when the ninth edition of the GS Trophy was announced to be held in Namibia, there was a sense of pent-up excitement in the air. The organizers stated that they were looking for a setting that would be as different as possible from the last running.
In order to be considered for the national squad, riders must first win qualifying in their home country. This makes getting to the International GS Trophy everything but simple. There will be 22 teams from around the world competing for the opportunity to demonstrate their abilities in a series of tasks. There will be 15 national qualifying rounds and one international qualifying round for an international team.
The International GS Trophy is a team tournament in which a global contingent of off-road aficionados compete against one another in numerous specialty tests, according to BMW Motorrad. Not all of these entail just riding a motorcycle; other abilities and collaboration are crucial. Six of the 22 teams—all women’s teams—will compete, leaving 16 teams composed entirely of males. It’s anticipated that 60 riders will take part in all.
It goes without saying that not every nation and region will hold an International GS Trophy qualifying, but BMW has announced the following places will:
Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, BeNeLux, China, Germany, France, Italy, India, Japan, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Columbia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Mexico
United States, United Kingdom, and South Korea.
Conclusion
There is an alternative if you don’t see your nation on this list (sorry, Canada and Australia). International qualifying will be made available by BMW for the first time at BMW Motorrad Days in Berlin on July 7–9, 2023.
However, it’s still early because BMW hasn’t even disclosed a lot of the most crucial information, including the precise dates, the bikes that will be allowed, or the specific obstacles that will be part of the 2024 GS Trophy. However, we’ve been informed that all of these details, as well as further information on the picked teams and participating nations, will be released in business press releases very shortly.
