Trophy Diary

The GS Trophy India qualifiers in Goa is India's foremost adv-only competition, Dipayan Dutta tries to blend in and gets into the fray of the competition to see what it's really all about!

- Dipayan Dutta

It is a little known fact that it was BMW Motorrad who lit the spark that would go on to be the global phenomenon that is adventure touring motorcycles. That spark, otherwise known at the R 80 G/S (Gelände/Straße: On-Road/Off-road) started the idea of a motorcycle that was rideable both on the road and once it ran out. Today with adventure tourers emerging from the woodwork on a global scale it might be hard to comprehend just how much of a risk that was for BMW Motorrad back in the 80s. Lucky for them, the idea stuck and how! The GS Trophy that BMW started in 2008, is quite simply a celebration of this culture, distilled into a gruelling competition that requires wits, stamina and most importantly teamwork. Naturally, when the ed asked me whether I was fit enough to compete in the India qualifier for the 2020 GS Trophy I said yes, although I got the feeling we were both aware of the blatancy of my lies.