NEWS


GS Trophy Challenge fi nal qualifi er By Steven M. Green # 198919


AT THE THIRD AND FINAL WEEK- end of competition for the 2015 GS Trophy Challenge took place recently at RawHyde Adventures BMW Off- Road Academy, about an hour’s ride north of Los Angeles. Thirty-eight riders rolled into the


RawHyde Ranch for a chance at the third and final spot on the U.S. GS Trophy team. Course obstacles set up by the RawHyde staff included a mud pit. One of the tasks riders would have to complete was riding around a bar- rel while holding a rope tied to the barrel and coiling the rope on the bar- rel without allowing the rope to touch the ground as a test of balance and riding skill. Additional riding tests included an


obstacle course made up of a maze of hay bales containing intentionally mismarked paths to test visual acu- men, decreasing-width chutes of logs and rugged trail sections.


At the completion of the first day of tri-


als, the top qualifier in the 1200 cc class, and second overall, was Tiberio Esparza, a con- tractor from the San Diego area. Esparza was a local favorite with an outgoing per- sonality and who was nearly always smiling and willing to share a story. He confided that he had been diligently practicing and even bought a new GS just a few months previously to practice his skills. The top qualifier overall, and top in the 800 cc class, was Chris Johns, a BMW tech who had only a few weeks of experience riding on dirt. The top 18 riders from day one went on


to compete in the next day’s trials. On Sunday morning, all riders started


with a given number of points from which deductions for each dab of a foot or the touching of certain items, like pylons or barrels, would be taken. Points could also be gained by making additional Trail Stops on a short downhill section. A trail stop required all tires to not be rolling and the bike not going forward. Riding the entire


length of a partially buried 30’ telephone pole would garner 50 points, but if riders were to slide off at some point, they would only score one point for each foot traveled. This challenge would separate the top rid- ers from the others. All the riders competed on the same new R 1200 GS to further make the challenges as fair as possible. Riders competed in random order, and


followed a marked short trail to a new sec- tion of the ranch that was heretofore unseen to begin the trials section and scoring. Competitors were unable to watch their brethren compete until after they com- pleted their run, thus ensuring a level play- ing field for all participants. Following the dictates of BMW Motor-


rad, the course began with a run through a rock garden which transitioned into a nar- row run between converging timbers and on to the partially buried 30’ telephone pole. There were two ‘neutral boxes’ where riders could stop, put a foot or two down and catch their breath. The first box was at


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