PARIS-DAKAR. BMW
WI NSFORTHE .
THIRD YEARIN A R
OW
The road from Paris to Dakar isa
road inonly the most metaphorical
sense. Actually, it's a cross-section of
Africa'smost terrifying terrains.
And each year, that"road"becomes
an8,OOO-mile testimonialto BMW
motorcycles. And an exotic graveyard
fora vast array ofourcompetitors.
We're referring, of course, to the
legendary Paris-Dakar rally, motorcycling's most gruesome torture test.
And to1985's version ofthe 2O-day
event, which J ended to predictable
ust
results: BMWwon. As itdidlast year.
Andtheyearbefore that. And four years
outof thelast five.
.It began January 1. withGaston
Rahier aboard a racing version of.the
BMW ROO GIS, the same l ,OOOcc flattwin model herode tovictory last year.
In a pack representing nearly every rnajor European and Japanese motorcycle.
Itdidn't take long forcalamityto
strike. In a collision on a small country
road, Gaston severely damaged
his BMW's front forkand frame and, it
seemed,any chance forvictory.
Bythetimehereached Africa, he
was in theback of the pack.The pavement ended, civilization ended and,for a
while,sodid his hopes.
But hekept on,despite furtherproblems with flat tires and a bent front
wheel. More importantly, his BMW kept
on. And as thecomplexion of the
earth slowly grew worse, the complexon oftherace began to change.
Inthe lunar landscape ofthe
Algerian mountains, Gaston rode likea
madman, the BMW's lowcenter of
gravity helping him to blow away the
competitors.
Through the dust-ehoked stretches
of the Sahara,the flat twin'sdurability
helpedthe BMWendure where less
stout-hearted bikes bitthedust. Lit rally.
e
And inthelethal T
enere "frying
pan"-a territory so scorched with sun,
it'ssaid that swallows falltothe ground
dead simplyfromthe heat-the
BMW's legendary dependability finall
y
triumphed. Gaston closed thegap to
but a single competitor.
By the time they reached the clear
sea breezes ofAfrica's west coast,
only a fraction of the bikes were left to
accompany Gaston tovictory. To the
cheers ofthe crowd, 'Rahier Royal' accepted thecrown of 'desert king':
"l'rnproudand happy tohave beaten all
the competitors once again on my
BMW" A BMWthathad begun therace
practically incapacitated.
So, once again next January 1. the
motorcycles willassemble in the shadow
of theEiffelT
ower. And once again, the
road from
Dakar wil
bepavedwithgood inten'.
tions.And avast array of our
competitors' bikes.
P
,o,1D
&
THE LEGElllWlYMOTOIlC1'ClESOFGERMIft
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