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The South African team
played to their home advantage to take a strong win in the first special test of the GS Trophy 2010, a navigation challenge.
The first day saw the 10 international teams (30 riders) travel a 300km course, starting in Johannesburg and finishing at the Country Trax farm estate in Mpumalanga in the district of Amersfoort.
In sunshine and warm air, the early kilometres of the day were travelled on sealed roads. The last 130km, though, saw the teams’ first encounter with the red gravel roads that traverse the region, just as the weather turned cooler and mist started to roll in.
NAVIGATION CHALLENGE
The tracks were deceptive, easily ridden at near motorway speeds but every now and again throwing up ruts, holes and boulders. With billowing dust trails it was important the teams rode with caution to arrive safely.
On reaching the Country Trax estate the teams met their first points-scoring special test, a navigation challenge. A second special test had to be abandoned when the mist turned to rain.
The navigation challenge set the teams the task of finding five points on the Country Trax farm (within one hour) using map co-ordinates, which each team input into their own GPS. At each point a marshal recorded their arrival.
Team South Africa won the challenge, but only by two minutes from the German team and by five minutes from Team USA.
BIG DONGAS
Gerber Styrdon of Team SA said later: “I think what put us ahead was we’d draw a straight line through the veld to go from one point to the next. We were going through dongas – big washaways – rather than taking the tracks as the other guys did. We took the route less travelled to make the shorter time and that got us ahead at the end.”
Team Japan may have struggled in the navigation test but they scored their own first when team rider Shigechika Aikawa became the first participant to crash! Aikawa was embarressed to report he’d fallen while sliding his F 800 GS trying to impress one of the TV film crews which are following the event. Fortunately Aikawa was uninjured.
“I saw the camera man on a corner and I thought I would put on a bit of a slide," he said, "but it came all the way around! But it was OK, I only bent the gear lever. I am happy! I don’t worry.”
The navigation test also offered a few riding challenges, not least the need to cross a deep gully with a stream at the bottom. While most teams resorted to pulling and pushing their bikes through the obstacle, the Italian team distinguished itselfby scavenging some fallen timber to build a bridge!
Top marks for ingenuity but quite probably the time taken dropped them down the results.
GS Trophy 2010
Day 2 points
and standings
Special Test 1: Navigation
1 South Africa - 15
2 Germany - 12
3 USA - 9
4 Spain - 7
5 Canada - 6
6 UK - 5
7 Italy - 4
8 Nordic - 3
9 Alps - 2
10 Japan - 1
The first day saw the 10 international teams (30 riders) travel a 300km course, starting in Johannesburg and finishing at the Country Trax farm estate in Mpumalanga in the district of Amersfoort.
In sunshine and warm air, the early kilometres of the day were travelled on sealed roads. The last 130km, though, saw the teams’ first encounter with the red gravel roads that traverse the region, just as the weather turned cooler and mist started to roll in.
NAVIGATION CHALLENGE
The tracks were deceptive, easily ridden at near motorway speeds but every now and again throwing up ruts, holes and boulders. With billowing dust trails it was important the teams rode with caution to arrive safely.
On reaching the Country Trax estate the teams met their first points-scoring special test, a navigation challenge. A second special test had to be abandoned when the mist turned to rain.
The navigation challenge set the teams the task of finding five points on the Country Trax farm (within one hour) using map co-ordinates, which each team input into their own GPS. At each point a marshal recorded their arrival.
Team South Africa won the challenge, but only by two minutes from the German team and by five minutes from Team USA.
BIG DONGAS
Gerber Styrdon of Team SA said later: “I think what put us ahead was we’d draw a straight line through the veld to go from one point to the next. We were going through dongas – big washaways – rather than taking the tracks as the other guys did. We took the route less travelled to make the shorter time and that got us ahead at the end.”
Team Japan may have struggled in the navigation test but they scored their own first when team rider Shigechika Aikawa became the first participant to crash! Aikawa was embarressed to report he’d fallen while sliding his F 800 GS trying to impress one of the TV film crews which are following the event. Fortunately Aikawa was uninjured.
“I saw the camera man on a corner and I thought I would put on a bit of a slide," he said, "but it came all the way around! But it was OK, I only bent the gear lever. I am happy! I don’t worry.”
The navigation test also offered a few riding challenges, not least the need to cross a deep gully with a stream at the bottom. While most teams resorted to pulling and pushing their bikes through the obstacle, the Italian team distinguished itselfby scavenging some fallen timber to build a bridge!
Top marks for ingenuity but quite probably the time taken dropped them down the results.
GS Trophy 2010
Day 2 points
and standings
Special Test 1: Navigation
1 South Africa - 15
2 Germany - 12
3 USA - 9
4 Spain - 7
5 Canada - 6
6 UK - 5
7 Italy - 4
8 Nordic - 3
9 Alps - 2
10 Japan - 1
