Available in soft, medium and hard compounds, the tyre will feature a harder right-hand side. Both the Chang International Circuit and the Red Bull Ring use this specific construction to control the build-up of heat that is generated, giving the riders maximum performance without any compromise from overheating. Accompanying the rear tyres will be symmetric designed front soft, medium and hard slicks, compounds that have been chosen based on data from last season’s race and the test in Thailand.
– He wins, regardless of where Dovizioso finishes. – He finishes 2nd, 3rd or 4th and Dovizioso finishes behind him. – He finishes 5th and Dovizioso finishes worse than 6th (7th or lower). – He finishes 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th or 13th and Dovizioso finishes at least two places behind in each case. – He finishes 14th and Dovizioso doesn’t score any points.
For the fans in Europe who are used to the 8/9am FP1 start, get ready to set your alarm clocks earlier, with Thailand’s time zone being GMT+7. As usual, Moto3™ FP1 will begin at 09:00 local time, with the MotoGP™ riders roaring out of pitlane at 09:55. MotoGP™ FP2 takes place at 14:10 local time.
By Trevor Hedge Images by Damien Ashenhurst and Trev
2019 BMW GS Safari Enduro saw over 80 riders head on an adventure taking them from the banks of the Murray River at Mildura in north-western Victoria, through to the inland heart of Australia, Alice Springs, in what is the 25th year of GS Safari.
The route chosen was a balance between the most intrepid and the most inspiring. As this is the more challenging of the two GS Safari events held each year, thus the ‘Enduro’ suffix added to the GS Safari moniker, this is certainly no walk in the park for most participants. The regular GS Safari takes almost 200 riders but Safari Enduro gets a bit more extreme thus numbers are generally less than half that of the more mainstream option.
In preparation for some of the sand riding and trials ahead, many riders also signed up for the BMW GS Off-Road Training Course that was staged in Mildura across the immediate two-days prior to Safari getting underway.
Dinner on the opening night was a chance for riders to reconnect with other participants they’d met on previous GS Safari adventures. For many these Safari events are simply a must-do every year, and plenty have a dozen or more GS Safaris under their belt.
Some riders are on their GS all the time, others are lucky to get out once every couple of months due to various family commitments or work pressures. Some are doctors, some are tradies, others head up large companies and between riding stints on Safari are on the phone back to the office co-ordinating bids for government contracts.
Some are obviously quite well off, while others are still paying off their motorcycle and their attendance at GS Safari Enduro is very much a treat they have to strive quite hard to be able to afford.
Some are travelling on their own, some are with a group of friends or work-mates. Out on the trail though, everyone is equal, everyone chips in and generally egos and competitive machismo are largely kept in check.
It is somewhat of a team effort as there is always someone ready to chip in and help to fix a puncture, help you pick your bike up, or give you a shove from behind to assist getting up a snotty incline. All that help is given without any snide remarks or put-downs and this helps ensure that no matter what, a positive vibe pervades, and people remain energised. Even when the going gets a little tough.
GS Safari Enduro Day One Mildura to Peterborough – 475 km
It was a brisk morning when we sporadically filed out of Mildura. To help spread the 80-odd riders out there was a sixty-minute departure window, so riders could leave at various times rather than en masse. This is not a ride where people follow nose to tail, you can often ride for half an hour or more without seeing another rider.
After crossing the Murray and Darling Rivers, we turned northwards and headed for the Danggali Conservation Park and Wilderness Protection Area, Australia’s first UN recognised Biosphere Reserve.
The landscape switches back and forth between Mallee wilderness to arid wetlands, and at the time we passed through Chowilla Track it was looking very arid indeed.
In fact, many sections of the track were much sandier than they had been only a few weeks earlier when the recce for the route was ridden by organisers. The sand led to somewhat of a baptism of fire for plenty of riders.
We were already getting into the proper outback on our basically all-dirt route via tracks generally less travelled. Until we met up with our makeshift fuel stop at the intersection of two tracks I had not seen another soul outside of our own group all day.The fuel drop was required as only GS Adventures would have the 400+ km fuel range to make it through to camp safely, the rest of us had our steeds replenished with ten-litres each poured from jerry cans.
The remainder of the day was on wide and quite reasonable tracks, but they still had the odd patch of bull-dust to keep you on your toes.
Our stop for the night was the Peterborough Caravan Park. Peterborough itself is a traditional old-style Australian country town. With a quite charming main street lined by pubs and buildings with balconies. The Indian Pacific train no longer stops in Peterborough so the lifeblood of the town these days relies primarily on grey nomad tourism.
Tents and swags were unpacked before tales were told around the campfire while the local RSL served up dinner out of a makeshift canteen erected in the grounds.
GS Safari Enduro Day Two Peterborough to Arkaroola – 459 km
Riders woke up to another brisk morning as the smell of bacon and eggs prevaded the air as again the men and women from the local RSL prepared breakfast. Coffee was served for those that require caffeine to function of a morning, while camp was packed up ahead of another big day on the bikes.
Heading out past Black Rock Conservation Area we then traversed a series of twisty tracks that criss-crossed private land holdings. It felt like I opened and shut about fifty gates, which turned out to be good stretching practice as I swung a leg over the R 1250 GS Rallye X each time.
Lunch and fuel was at Hawker, a town with a permanent residence of around 350, but frequented by many travellers as they make their way up into the Flinders Ranges.
The terrain heading in and out of Hawker is rugged and rocky, but remarkably this 140-year-old town is only just over an hour from the sea where the Indian Ocean juts into the warm embrace of Spencer Gulf.
Heading north after lunch saw us bomb along a quite enjoyable few kilometres of winding bitumen. ESA into Dynamic and ride mode ‘Sport’ it would have been quite easy to make short work of the rear Metzeler Karoo III hoop.
Still it was nice for a moment to flow along a lovely bit of tarmac with the edge of the Flinders Ranges a stunning backdrop to our west.
We passed Wilpena Pound but instead of heading towards Blinman we turned west on to tracks that led us to Wirrealpa Rd.
This was easy enough going but then later in the day we deviated in to Nantawarrina Aboriginal territory. These were some tight and at times quite technical trails before joining the main tracks towards Arkaroola.
The terrain through Nantawarrina would be truly something incredible to behold after any major rains. The downside would be though that the tracks would also become incredibly difficult and in any truly major downpours would be impassable.
There were a few spots along here though where I wouldn’t have minded being stranded, as long as I had a swag on the back, a bit of tucker and a cask of chateau de cardboard, I would have been well set.In some of my earlier adventures throughout Western Australia I have been known to blow up the empty wine bladder from the cask and used it as a pillow of an evening! #multitasking #class
Instead we were set for proper beds at Arkaroola, a modern oasis suddenly appeared in the desert complete with a large bar….well all but one of us anyway…
One poor fella had suffered a broken ankle, along with a few other injuries in an afternoon crash and was being prepared for a medical evacuation. Royal Flying Doctor Service is your only hope of getting to a hospital out here, and even then it can take 12-24 hours for them to get to you…
GS Safari Enduro Day Three Arkaroola Loop – 122 km
GS Safari Enduro riders had the option of either using this as a rest day, or heading out to explore some tracks in the Vulkathunha-Gammon Ranges. It was nice not to have break camp at the crack of dawn.
How were the the rivulets and landscape around Arkaroola created..? Well according to Adnyamathanha dreamtime stories, a mythical giant creature named Arkaroo drank the nearby Lake Frome dry before then proceeding to climb up into the mountains before then pissing it all out, thereby creating Arkaroola Creek…. Don’t know exactly what herbs were growing in the area when that was dreamed up…
The area was first settled by Europeans as a mining area in 1860 before major drought saw the settlers pull up stumps in 1863. It was not until the early 1900s that white settlement started again and the catalyst for that happening was the discovery of rich deposits of rubies and sapphires. Uranium was then discovered in the area by Douglas Mawson, a great man more well known for his exploits in Antarctica than in the outback.
Uranium was almost the death of the Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary that had been developed in the area by geologist Reg Sprigg in 1968. Sprigg had purchased a 610 square-kilometre lease on the land but it was not until 2011 that this area was well and truly protected from mining. The South Australian government enacted special purpose legislation prohibiting mining, mining exploration and grazing amidst the Arkaroola ranges. The South Australian populace had been up in arms after a mining company had dumped radioactive waste in the region after exploratory drilling which forced the government to act.
While the miners are not welcome, motorcyclists and four-wheel-drive enthusiasts certainly are and Arkaroola has a network of tracks that can test just about anyone’s mettle.
There were a few riders that wished they had taken the option of sitting the day out as the dry conditions caused some of the planned routes to be quite a bit more treacherous than expected. There were also countless punctures from the sharp and jagged rocks.
Still, as a testament to the communal effort, everyone survived the day to work up a hearty thirst for the nights BBQ dinner.
GS Safari Enduro Day Four Arkaroola to William Creek – 450km
A generous breakfast from the Arkaroola Village kitchen had the riders well prepared for two options, a testing back exit from Arkaroola, or a run back out from Arkaroola the way we had come in.
Bravely, most riders plumped for the harder option, they had come to to put the ‘Enduro’ in GS Safari after all and despite the difficulty, many were really relishing the challenge and enjoying putting themselves and their machines to the test. I mean what better time to do it? On Safari you have medical and technical back-up, along with 80 or so helpers should you get in way too deep.
Thus some were more tired than others as we rolled into Copley for a pie and some fuel before what was perhaps the only real mundane part of the experience over the first few days.A 100km or so of bitumen took us into Marree and the terrain was starting to become flatter as we progressed and left the ranges in the dust behind us.
We then joined the Oodnadatta Track for an easy roll into William Creek for the night.
Accomodation here was primarily in shared dongers and the William Creek Hotel was hit hard by all and sundry.
The biggest lamb shanks I have ever seen were served up for dinner and were washed down with many a beer.
Everyone was in good spirits and I heard there might have been a few middle aged men that stripped off a few clothes and danced on the bar! Allegedly!
When it came for closing time more than a few of the GS Safari boys were not done. A hat was passed around to come up with enough cash to talk the two ladies behind the bar in to working late. The figure rasied was, allegedly, over $500….But what happens in the bush stays in the bush….Sometimes…. My silence can be bought…. LOL
GS Safari Enduro Day Five William Creek to Mount Dare – 460 km
The next morning we worked our way north on the Oodnadatta Track towards, funnily enough, Oodnadatta…
I have done this track a few times and mostly it has been really easy going, two-wheel drive car type easy going, but it was in a shitful state the day we traversed it.
Loose gravel sections everywhere ,with mounds pushed up either side of wheel tracks, turned what would normally have been a relaxing cruise, into something that could go pear shaped awful quickly from any momentary lapse of attention.One rim got squashed so badly from a rock impact it was beyond repair and had to be replaced by the support crew.
Not far out of Oodnadatta we turned right on Mount Dare Road. This was a proper flat and barren landscape like something out of a movie set on Mars. I say Mars as that is known as the red planet and this terrain had pretty much every shade of red known to man.
All except for one spring fed oasis that appeared like a a hallucination as it had been so long since we had seen any body of water. This beautiful spot appeared in what felt like the middle of nowhere thus I had to stop for a photo, gee the flies were friendly!
This is known as Eringa Waterhole in the outback area known as Marla. It was originally part of Eringa Station which was established in the 1870s before being purchased by Sidney Kidman in 1899. Station buildings are now derelict and the land is now part of the greater Hamilton Station.
Others that passed through when we did said they had never seen the waterhole that dry, and that it normally stretches right out to the dip in the road we traversed through Witjira National Park on our way to Mount Dare for the night.
It was a truly magical contrast after miles and miles of largely nothing to have this amazing gum tree lined waterhole appear out of the dust.
We then continued on through a few sandy sections before arriving at Mount Dare where we made camp for the night. Mount Dare consists of a pub on the edge of the Simpson Desert with a couple of fuel bowsers, and that’s about it…
Sounds like a recipe for a good time, although this fella at the bar was quite rude and demanding at times.
It was an earlier one for most as we crawled into our respective swags or tents for the night.
One fella though had a pretty big off before Mount Dare. His Shoei Hornet helmet clearly saved his life. His head had visible marks all across one side where the patterns from the padding inside the helmet had compressed and spread the impact load right across the side of his head. I have never seen anything like it. Come morning those marks were purple lines of bruising. The accompanying GS Safari medics checked him over and gave him the all clear. He liked his Shoei Hornet before, but is now a sworn Shoei customer for life.
GS Safari Enduro Day Six Mount Dare to Alice Springs – 577 km
Day six was always going to be a litmus test for some, those that were brave enough to attempt the Finke access track after lunch were in for a real challenge.
But it turned out that everyone was going to have to negotiate some long and soft sand sections, complete with some testing sand drifts, as Abminga Road presented much more of a challenge than expected even before we got to Finke.
There were plenty of falls but no injuries and everyone rolled into Finke in good shape. I was in early so was lucky enough to get some of the last litres of fuel from the Finke Service Station tanks before they ran dry….
Those on the big tank Adventure models would be okay from here but anyone on a regular GS was going to need fuel. Fuel bladders were emptied and nearly all the remaining gerry cans from the support vehicles were drained to give everyone enough fuel to make it to the next stop.
From here everyone had a decision to make. Take the easier option, which still had enough hazards to keep you on your toes, or attempt the infamous Finke Track. Around a quarter of the riders decided to take the hard option.
I was in two minds at this point. I honestly had hardly really raised a sweat all week, had not come close to falling off, and had picked up many fallen riders through the sand sections that I had sailed through.
But there is sand, and then there is ‘sand’… Would the track be in good shape, or would it be chopped up and really, really soft?I was ready to take the simpler option, to be on the safe side, but a few riders that had ridden with me during the week boosted me up enough to take on the challenge. I should have taken the easier option.
Only a few kilometres into the track the sand was diabolical. The fact that it was deep was okay, sort of, the real problem was how chopped up and messy it was.To ride sand like this you have to be on the pipe, so to speak. Weight back and power on as the bike pretty much wriggles all over the place and follows whatever is the course of least resistance.
Now on a 120 kg enduro bike that is fair enough, but it does take some proper confidence and balls to hold it on when 240 kg of GS is threatening to batter you into the sand every few seconds. It also takes fitness, and 15km in I was done. I hadn’t crashed, but I was going to, and thus I thought it best to pull out and ride the 15km back out, rather than end up being evacuated by chopper or support vehicle. There was another 180km of that track to go, in what could have been the same, or perhaps even worse conditions.
I pulled up and spoke to the chase four-wheel-drive and the decision was made that we would try and ride the bike back out and let those up ahead know that I was going back out and switching to Option B. We had not stopped long before a lead rider came back, and then another lead rider came back. It turned out that in fact more than half of the group were in real trouble a few kilometres further on. The decision to abandon the attempt was made. But we still had to get back out the way we came, which was quite a challenge in itself. The track now even more chopped up than it had been when we went in.
We regrouped back at Finke and then headed out on a long gravel track towards Kulgera Roadhouse. Here we refuelled the bike and ourselves. A few riders had suffered punctures on the run out from Finke, and more yet then suffered punctures on the final highway run up to Alice Springs.
There is no reliable measure of how many puncture repairs were made during the week but we are talking triple digits.
The guys in the support truck, primarily Stu Tait, had completed 148 tyre changes throughout the trip. When on the clock he got it down to under four-minutes! He had worked harder than any of us!
The wind-up dinner in Alice Springs was a celebratory affair tinged with a note of sadness that it was all over. Most were flying out from here, their bikes being transported back to their chosen port of origin, but many still had to ride 2000 kilometres or more to get home.
Among them was the fella that had smacked his head real hard on day five. His helmet looked reasonably okay, externally, but it had clearly done its job and would have had no more compression inside left to give. He still had a few thousand kilometre ride home to do and I could not, in good conscience, let him ride that distance in a helmet that was no longer fit for purpose, so handed him my own Shoei to make his way home in. My good deed done for the day, but so many on Safari had done plenty of favours for others. It was just another gesture in the spirit of the event.
Another rider also taking the long way home was relatively new to motorcycling and had just completed GS Safari Enduro on a G 310 GS! Read Nick’s story here, it is a cracker!
Only a fairly recent convert to GS riding, after riding motocross as a junior and then turning his hand at enduro, 25-year-old Tysen Haley was the youngest on Safari.
At the other end of the scale was 66-year-old Paul Malcolm. However, most riders were closer to Paul in age than Tysen, as the average across all participants was 56. An old man’s game then? Certainly not, it is just that until people get to that age it can be a struggle to come up with the disposable money to buy a late model adventure bike, and also be able to find the time off from work and away from their family.
All in all it was a great experience, on a great motorcycle, in great company and with a great support team backing us up.Of course you could do this kind of trip on an old XT Yamaha or the like, camping all the way and also having a great time. But there really is nothing like taking on this type of trek on a big adventure bike like the GS.
Especially when on the straight bits you can set the ESA to its plushest mode and just roll on in relative comfort. That’s sort of important now that I am not as young as what I was when exploring the Pilbara on an old XT more than 25 years ago.
Often a new helmet miraculously appears on his lap of honour, while, in more recent years, a little pantomime is often played out trackside to make a poignant point or celebrate the exact number of World titles achieved. While all the celebrations are going on at the circuit, the World Champion’s biography with pictures has already been beamed around the world to millions of media outlets.
Guintoli has completed three Suzuki wildcards in 2019 at the Catalan, Czech and British GPs, with the Frenchman scoring points in both Barcelona and Silverstone. But as well as preparing himself, Guintoli also undertook some vital test work as 2020 preparations start to ramp up for the Hamamatsu factory.
Sho Nishimura arrives as the man in charge in the standings, with the Japanese youngster on 115 points at the top – 18 clear of his nearest challenger, Indonesian Afridza Munandar. Then there’s another gap of 14 points back to Adenanta Putra and Takuma Matsuyama, but with 50 points in play per weekend and 150 left this season, everything can still turn on its head. The good news for Nishimura is the consistency he’s shown, as are the two second places he came away with the last time the IATC raced at Buriram earlier in the year – but that means, therefore, someone else took those wins…
It costs $949 but there is a “special $549 limited pricing in early 2020”.
The company will launch in the USA and Europe in the second quarter of 2020.
Vapourware
Meanwhile, Alfred says other promised “smart helmets” are just “vapourware” which means they have been advertised but are not yet available, because they are just concepts or are still being developed.
“Up until now, the promise of a smart motorcycle helmet has been underwhelming, to say the least,” Alfred says.
“Much of the tech out there is vapourware, over-promising and under-delivering.”
He says their helmet will keep riders “fully informed of what is going on around them”.
“Forcite is here to wage war with the big brands and fly the flag high as the leader in smart helmet tech globally,” he says.
Forcite MK1 features
The MK1 features Forcite’s patented RAYDAR helmet system, combining Formula 1 LED technology, audio interactivity, military-grade camera recording and a fingertip handlebar controller.
Here is the official Forcite press release providing technical information about the MK1:
RAYDAR
Forcite’s patented RAYDAR system connects motorcyclists to roads, communities and cities like never before. The server-based software system leverages AI to gather information from the millions of data points being communicated through mobile applications, GPS and cameras around the world that are currently inaccessible to motorcycle riders.RAYDAR then transmits that information to riders via a unique LED display that delivers colored visual cues similar to high-tech Formula 1 steering wheels. This enables riders to receive relevant information such as directions, hazards and alerts without dangerous HUD distractions, and without having to take their eyes off the road.
HD Camera
The MK1 features a Sony HD Camera with near infrared sensitivity, super-wide 166° diagonal field of vision lens, and up to five hours of continuous recording time.
Superior Audio
Ultra-thin speakers and dual microphones provide crisp, clear audio in surround sound without road noise. Riders can take phone calls, listen to music or communicate with other MK1 users via Forcite’s voice-over-internet comms system.
Intuitive Controller
Handlebar-mounted controller puts control at a rider’s fingertips without unnecessary distractions.
AJMX reaches halfway at Gillman as heats and finals continue
Section: Competition
Australia’s top junior riders put on a show during day three.
Image: Foremost Media.
Day three of the 2019 KTM Australian Junior Motocross Championship (AJMX) marked the halfway point as heats and finals continued to unfold at Gillman in South Australia.
Local favourite Alex Larwood maintained his dominance in the second final of the Junior Lites 15 Years class, securing victory by over 19 seconds ahead of Blake Fox and Cameron Torpy.
Larwood once again earned top honours in finals two and three in the 125cc 15 Years category, edging out Fox and Cody Chittick in the first outing of the day, before defeating Fox and Levi Rogers in race three.
Jack Mather emerged victorious in final three of the Junior Lites 13-U15 Years class, beating Brad West and Jackson Camilleri, while heat three of the 125cc 13-U15 Years division was taken out by Jett Burgess-Stevens over Liam Atkinson and Ryan Alexanderson. Heat four went the way of Zachary Watson followed by Hunter Collins and Brock Flynn.
Hunter Collins captured victory in the second final of the Mini Lites BW 14-U16 Years class ahead of Ben Novak and Camilleri, while Collins picked up the win again in final three over Novak and Watson.
Ryder Kingsford was the one the beat in heat three of the Mini Lites BW 12-U14 Years division as he defeated Seth Burchell and Dylan Walsh, while heat four went to Connor Towill over Burgess-Stevens and Byron Dennis. In heat five, Burchell topped the outing followed by Brenton Wilson and Dennis, as heat six was saw the top three completed by Towill, Burgess-Stevens and Kobe Drew.
Heat five of the Mini Lites SW 9-U12 Years division saw Kayden Minear lift top honours alongside Jack Deveson and Jason West, while heat six went to Jet Alsop followed by Liam Owens and Koby Hantis.
Charli Cannon reigned supreme over Madison Healy and Taylah McCutcheon in the third final of the Junior Lites 13-U16 Years Girls class, while the Mini Lites BW 12-U16 Years division raced finals two and three – the second going to Cannon ahead of McCutcheon and Taylor Thompson, with the third once again going to Cannon over Thompson and McCutcheon.
Ky Woods claimed victory in the 65cc 10-U12 Years class, as Cooper Downing and Cooper Ford were victorious in heats five and six in the 65cc 7-U10 Years category. Mason Brown won final two in the 50cc Division 2 7-U9 Years class. Racing resumes tomorrow as all classes commence finals.
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