The tenth BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy has been decided in Romania after six days and around 1,500 km (932 miles) of riding through the Carpathians. Team Germany took the men’s competition with 203 points, while the two-rider Team Europe won the women’s competition with 200 points. BMW says roughly half the route ran away from paved roads, making the anniversary edition the most technical staging of the event so far.

The tenth edition of the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy finished in Colțești, Romania, after six days in the Carpathian mountains. Team Germany — Fabian Fenner, Norman Pleissner and Florian Thomann — won the men’s competition with 203 points. In the women’s competition, the two-rider Team Europe of Chrissie Harcourt and Anja Filak finished top with 200 points.

Neither result was settled early. Going into the final day, Team Germany held an eleven-point cushion over Team Europe in the men’s standings, while only two points separated Team International and Team Europe among the women. The last challenge decided both.

A route that pushed the format

According to BMW, the anniversary event covered around 1,500 km (932 miles), with roughly half of the distance off sealed roads. On three consecutive days the teams were on the move for eleven to twelve hours, and day three alone ran to more than 300 km (186 miles), including 170 km (106 miles) of trails.

The harder sections sat high in the mountains: an eight-kilometre (five-mile) navigation challenge on single trails, the climbs to the Strategica Mountain Road, and an exposed descent along a narrow goat track. Riverbeds, deep fine gravel, wet grass slopes and washed-out forest tracks filled in the rest. Cold temperatures, fog and wet camps meant recovery and personal organisation counted as much as riding ability, the company says.

Thirty riders from 13 nations took part under the event’s “Back to Basics” theme. All of them rode the BMW R 12 G/S, which BMW describes as having proved itself a versatile competition bike across every type of terrain.

The smallest team on the entry list

Team Europe’s two riders had never met before the event — Harcourt from Wales in the United Kingdom, Filak from the Netherlands — and rode as a pair against three-rider entries.

“We were certainly the smallest team in the competition. But we rode like one body, as one unit. Chrissie is amazing. She gave me a lot of advice, and I was able to follow her and make it through. I gained more confidence because I knew I could follow her and stay focused. I took everything she told me over these days very much to heart and tried to put every piece of advice into practice – and it worked!”

Harcourt’s reaction was shorter: “I can hardly describe this feeling. My head is a little all over the place; everything feels a bit shaky. It will take a while for it to truly sink in. I am incredibly proud of both of us.”

What the GS Trophy is for

The GS Trophy is not a race. Teams collect points across special challenges, and the format rewards navigation, consistency and mutual support rather than outright pace — which is why an event of this length can be won by the smallest crew on the entry list. For BMW, it also doubles as a public durability run for the GS family, with the R 12 G/S carrying that role this year.

Final standings

Women’s teams

1. Europe – 200 points 2. International – 184 3. Australia – 164 4. China – 159 5. Germany – 146

Men’s teams

1. Germany – 203 points 2. Europe – 147 3. Ukraine – 144 4. Australia – 138 5. Japan – 135 6. Korea – 131 7. International – 128 8. China – 102

BMW has not announced a host country or date for the next edition of the International GS Trophy.

Source: www.press.bmwgroup.com