2020 GS Trophy US Qualifier

[Eric Hall]

Just got back from the GS Trophy 2020 US qualifier at Rawhyde Adventures in Castaic, CA and had a really amazing time!  It's similar to going to watch a golf tournament only about a million times more exciting.

I got to lead a shop ride from Irv Seaver BMW Sat morning and of course they loaned me a sweet GS to ride instead of my workhorse 990 lol.

Sat was the final day for the finalists and all contestants rode the new BMW 850 GS.  I did the trophy in 2012 and got 17th and the day of the finals I figured I was unlikely to do better than 17th on a bike I'd never ridden so kudos to the riders who adapted quickly to this different bike.

There was a guy on Friday who went over the bars on this downhill but luckily he's okay

This is how it normally looked

 

I was extremely impressed with the talent this year.  Like I was saying about finishing 17th in 2012... I doubt I'd have done as well this time even though I'm a much better rider.

The scoring was quite interesting to follow this year!  I was surprised that riders I thought did really well like Jason Houle and Tyler Godwin finished so far back but then digging deeper I discovered why!

Apparently the challenge began with a slow uphill climb where you'd lose 25(!) points if you let the rear wheel break traction and only one rider, Dave Diaz (GM of Irv Seaver BMW), cleaned.  Well 25 points is a LOT!  That's like 25 dabs or 5 falls!  So the smart thing to have done had each rider really though strategically about where points are gained/lost would have been to keep your ass far back on the seat going up that hill instead of being on the pegs vertically.  

I saw riders like Chris Johns (who took first), Jason, Tyler, etc... do REALLY well in the sand which is super tough but again a dab is just 1 point so as good as it looks it doesn't cost you much if you flub the sand even though fewer riders can do it well.

More to come...

[Eric Hall]

I was surprised that riders like Jason Houle and Tyler Godwin finished so far back but then Tyler pointed out he was only 17 points back so that shows not only how close it was near the top but how amazing a rider Chris Johns is to have won even though he lost 25 points in sliding his rear wheel on that difficult climb!

The winners on the mens side: Chris Johns, Kevin Jones, Harrison Kendrick and Dave Diaz (alternate).  Womens: Lisa Taylor, Kandi Spangler and Ellen Gines (alternate).

Ellen Gines

The sand challenge was to ride in and out of about 7-8 cones in deep sand.  We all know turning in deep sand isn't easy!  Very few did it clean; I think just two (Jason and someone else).  Even Chris Johns dabbed once but then that's just a 1 point deduction (I think).

Jason Houle cleaning the sand challenge

I liked this other challenge that involved sliding the rear wheel into a turn and then spinning it on accelerating out of the turn.  They had to do that back and forth a few times.

And then the "garage" where you have to very slowly make tight turns without touching the side bars or barrels.

All these make very good practice for all of us when we're out riding or just messing around.

Recommendations would be to wear long sleeves and long pants and hat for sun protection but also for bugs so bring bug spray too.  A chair and drinks/food are a good idea too.  I think if RawHyde had a roach coach or burger stand or something they could have made some good money and some happy customers!

You can find more online at #gstrophy2020 and then their official site here.  The men advance to New Zealand next year and the the women will compete in Spain.

 

[Eric Hall]

I led the Irv Seaver shop ride and saw [mention=2640]William Howard[/mention] as well as Rene and Trissa.

 

 

I told Dave Díaz I’d ride the 990 but he was kind enough to loan me a GS! That was a nice ride!!

 

[Eric Hall]

Lots of familiar faces judging

The two lady winners Kandi and Lisa

The trophies

Barrel rope winding

[motochefarwi]

Lots of familiar faces judging

The two lady winners Kandi and Lisa

The trophies

Barrel rope winding

Congratulations to all those who competed. Great coverage Eric! For some it is a great reunion because many have ridden together in some shape or form. For some it is a dream and a “never give up” attitude much like what adventure riding is all about. It is a good contest, I highly recommend it if you want to sharpen your skills and test your self. I competed in the 2018 qualifiers! I had a good time, I think I pretty much place last. Timing did not work out for me this year, but maybe the next one!

[Jason R]

So no quality pics of XLADV back in the BMW saddle? 

[Eric Hall]

Not unless someone else got one I'm unaware of.  It was REALLY nice to ride that up and back on the highway but it had street tires and mag wheels so I wasn't going to try and off road it.  But I did take it up to the top of the hill on a dirt/gravel road at RawHyde and it did fine.

I love that bike and wish I still had mine but I don't think I'd do the same kind of riding on a GS that I used to.  It's not really made for it and gets really expensive when things start breaking.

The 850 GS looks pretty good though for dirt but I haven't tried it yet.

[Eric Hall]

Note how Chris Johns doesn't "lean back and gas it" to get through but is in the netural position and then even leans forward to get his front wheel to turn.