From distant lands, they have traversed trials and terrains, not just in Namibia but in their own worlds of preparation and perseverance. Each twist of the throttle has been a chapter, each obstacle a lesson, and every kilometer ridden, a story etched into the landscape of this adventure.
Now, as they stand on the brink of the last challenge, they know that the true treasure of this journey is not the podium but the friendships forged, the limits surpassed, and the moments that have become memories. Like Odysseus on his path to Ithaka, they’ve come to realize that the greatest victories are the ones found along the road, not just at its end.
The time had come, and they were off! The last day of the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy 2024 arrived sooner than anyone had imagined. It felt like just yesterday that the competitors were arriving here in Midgard, with no speck of dust in their lungs. Now, dust and adventure are part of their every day, ingrained in both rider and machine.
Today's ride may only be 50 kilometers, but BMW Motorrad has saved one of the toughest for last. The riders departed for a loop around the estate, near the fringes of the Okavango Delta, before returning to the Lodge for the final challenge of the event.
The light morning breeze brought hopes for a less dusty ride, but by now, the dust didn’t matter. The riders, their gear, and the bikes had seen so much of it, they had become one with the earth, carrying the Namibian dust as a badge of honor.
Now, as they stand on the brink of the last challenge, they know that the true treasure of this journey is not the podium but the friendships forged, the limits surpassed, and the moments that have become memories. Like Odysseus on his path to Ithaka, they’ve come to realize that the greatest victories are the ones found along the road, not just at its end.
The time had come, and they were off! The last day of the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy 2024 arrived sooner than anyone had imagined. It felt like just yesterday that the competitors were arriving here in Midgard, with no speck of dust in their lungs. Now, dust and adventure are part of their every day, ingrained in both rider and machine.
Today's ride may only be 50 kilometers, but BMW Motorrad has saved one of the toughest for last. The riders departed for a loop around the estate, near the fringes of the Okavango Delta, before returning to the Lodge for the final challenge of the event.
The light morning breeze brought hopes for a less dusty ride, but by now, the dust didn’t matter. The riders, their gear, and the bikes had seen so much of it, they had become one with the earth, carrying the Namibian dust as a badge of honor.
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MotorTranscript
00:00Good morning and welcome to day six, the final day of the BMW Motorrad 2024 International
00:16GS Trophy in Namibia.
00:18This week has seen a wide variety of terrain and challenges for the competitors between
00:22the desert and the coast.
00:24Now we're back at home base and the riders are setting off on a short but technical 50
00:28kilometer loop, end of which they're going to face their final special test, which will
00:31determine the winner of this trophy.
00:58This morning's ride has been a variety of challenging terrain.
01:09Now the teams have arrived at this steep downhill.
01:13There's loose rocks, loose sand.
01:15It's very technical.
01:16The teams will have to take their time and pick their line.
01:32And now we're at the final special stage of the GS Trophy and it's double points.
01:36So as close as the scoring is, this could really change up the leaderboard.
01:41The teams have had six amazing riding days together.
01:44They've learned each other's strengths and weaknesses and hopefully how to work well
01:49together as a team.
01:51This trial involves some strategy.
01:53It's a Le Mans start.
01:54So the riders' bikes are at the start.
01:56They need to run to them and then they're presented with a series of options for which
01:59section they want to take and the competitors need to decide among themselves which rider
02:03is going to ride which section.
02:05Once they've completed the beginning of the trial and arrived at this wooden bridge, they
02:08complete a back half of the trial, back through a slalom, arrive at the finish and time doesn't
02:13stop until all three riders have completed the course.
02:33So now this is the calm before the storm before the final scores are announced.
02:37And honestly for me, this week one of the highlights was simply seeing the performance
02:40of the bikes.
02:41The S900GS, the R1300GS, you and I were on the 1300.
02:45Just amazing bikes, fun to see in action.
02:47Definitely.
02:48And yeah, they proved to be, certainly proved to be capable.
02:51And how about on the special stage, this final special today?
02:53Yeah, Germany's run.
02:54I mean, unbelievable.
02:55South Africa as well.
02:56Yeah.
02:57I mean, dabs versus time.
02:58I mean, it's, it's still kind of anybody's race and the women's teams as well.
03:02Yeah.
03:03Super close.
03:04Top three positions, only seven seconds apart.
03:05I mean, I have no idea what we're going to see when we go in there.
03:08Yeah.
03:09Yeah.
03:10I mean, nothing changed tonight.
03:11So stay tuned for the results.
03:12Female team.
03:13Place number one.
03:14Team International.
03:15Congratulations.
03:16Winning team for the 2024 GS Trophy in Namibia is Germany.
03:39So we've got this year's winners for the GS Trophy, but really, everyone's a winner
03:54for the determination it took to get here and to finish.
03:57And the best part, they're all taking home memories to last a lifetime.
04:0222 teams representing 23 different nations came together to compete in Namibia.
04:08They came together as competitors.
04:10Now they're leaving as friends.
04:12And remember, make life a ride.