From: Alice Taylor
BMW Pick “Off-Road Jewel” Albania for 2022 Motorbike Event

BMW has announced that the next edition of the BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy will take place in Albania in 2022.

Under the motto “Explore the unexpected”, the event in its eighth edition is expected to be scheduled for late summer.

The International GS Trophy was created to celebrate the spirit of BMQ GS motorbikes. Previous editions were held in New Zealand, Mongolia, Thailand, Canada, Chile and Argentina, and South Africa. The next edition will see 22 teams compete with 60 riders from all over the world, accompanied by the media, and a film crew.

Not a race, but rather a team competition, the event will see off-roading enthusiasts compete across various different stages. Following the event, they will offer “Follow the Trails” tours where non-participants can follow in the footsteps of the competition on GS Trophy motorbikes.

Dr Ralf Rodepeter, Head of Brand and Product at BMW Motorrad said Albania will offer qualified GS riders a completely new experience.

“After Tunisia, South Africa, Patagonia, Canada, Thailand, Mongolia, and most recently New Zealand, BMW Motorrad was once again on the lookout for a location that offered the perfect “GS terrain”. Lots of legal off-road kilometers are required, with demanding route profiles and plenty of unknowns. Albania offers the ideal conditions.

Varied landscapes with high mountains, plateaus, deep forests, beaches along the Adriatic coast, fantastic river beds to cross and deep mountain lakes provide the ideal backdrop for what we believe to be one of the most exciting GS Trophies ever staged.”

After Tunisia, South Africa, Patagonia, Canada, Thailand, Mongolia, and most recently New Zealand, BMW Motorrad was once again on the lookout for a location that offered the perfect “GS terrain”. Lots of legal off-road kilometers are required, with demanding route profiles and plenty of unknowns. Albania offers the ideal conditions.

Varied landscapes with high mountains, plateaus, deep forests, beaches along the Adriatic coast, fantastic river beds to cross and deep mountain lakes provide the ideal backdrop for what we believe to be one of the most exciting GS Trophies ever staged,” he said.

Referring to Albania as “one of the last off-road jewels in Europe” and a “real insider tip”, BMW also noted the hospitality of Albanian people. With two-thirds of the country covered in mountains, crisscrossed with narrow winding roads and dirt tracks, this provides a very good riding technique, according to their press release.