2024 GS Trophy Day 1 – Welcome to Namibia

Paired up with Team China for the day, Team USA was led out to the Namibian countryside by our Brazilian ride leader Aloisio alongside team China’s men’s team. After a quick rocky jeep trail, the teams were welcomed to their first challenge. The international competitors gathered around an old copper mine for the first special challenge: The Namibia Welcome Trail. Each team would start from the abandoned copper mine’s processing areas, then circle around through a somewhat narrow ribboned course that rewarded precision and speed.

Our route from the first special took us out of the gate and straight up a loose and rocky hill that wasn’t too challenging, as long as you kept your momentum. Team China’s media rep got hung up just losing a bit of momentum near the top and spinning out. After a few tries, the attempt was futile given the dry, steep terrain. Captain America, Scott Acheson, made his way down to help the rider, and made sure his bike got up the hill before he left the Chinese rider’s side. The GS Trophy is helping to build international relations, but really, it’s great to set everything aside and focus purely on the joy of riding and facing challenges on a motorcycle with people from around the world.

From here, our global crew blew through the desert’s wide dusty roads ahead of lunch. Knowing the second challenge was in the afternoon, there was a sense of eagerness and apprehension in the air. After a live video appeared on social media from the event showing folks both running and riding through deep sand, folks put their forks down next to their half-eaten plates as a full stomach all of a sudden felt like a bad idea.

Once Team USA arrived in the wide, dry sandpit that was once (maybe once even ten years ago?) a riverbed, they got to watch the teams ahead of them struggle to manage the deep, rutted sand course. That’s not to say everyone struggled. In the so named Akrapovič Enduro Challenge, the ladies from Japan demonstrated a masterclass of balance and throttle control that rivaled any of the other competitor’s attempts. Team USA struggled during the challenge despite the potential from a South African, Floridian, and South Carolinian, Kirk from South Carolina was the only one to clean the course, as both Billy and Scott’s bikes were swallowed by the deep African sand.

Annoyed, but still in good spirits given the situation, Team USA and China carried on and enjoyed a fun off-road route that spanned rocky, sandy jeep trails and BFRs. Rolling into Ai Aiba Rock Painting Lodge as the last group due to some technical difficulties with one of China’s BMW’s DSA suspension, the team took in the view as they set up their tents, before making their way to the lodge for dinner and an update on the standings. Today may not have gone the way our boys wanted, but tomorrow is a new day, we’re only one day in, and the team is still as hungry as ever to put their best effort into the challenges to come. Travelling to Spitzkoppe tomorrow should provide some epic backdrops for some excellent challenges for the international carnival travelling through Namibia.