The. HP:I'. 10_ _.... 4if gravit)l..nd
am~ power make po_111c1lJ a snap.
IIY racing, as we know it in
~
North America, is more akin to
what we call off-road or desert
racing. Races like the Baja 500
d 1000, and the multitude of
off-road racing series like GNCC, Hare
Scrambles, WORCS and National Enduro,
are what Americans identify as off-road.
Although these are demanding tests of skill
and endurance, they are nothing like their
African and South American counterparts.
Races such as the Dakar Rally and the Incas
Rally are much more taxing marathons of
rider skill and fortitude, pushing the limits
of man and machine over the course of up
to two weeks.
The machinery of choice for American
off-road racing has been either big fourstrokes, like Honda's XR650, for the
longer Baja races, or lighter, more nimble
S4 AUGUST 3, 2005 • CYCLE NEWS
bikes, like the modern 450cc four-strokes
and 2S0-500cc two-strokes, for the other
off-road series. These bikes are a far cry
from the huge BMW, KTM and Yamaha
motorcycles that have traditionally competed in the Dakar race.
BMW hasn't won the Dakar rally since
the late Richard Sainct won in 2000. KTM
has dominated the Dakar races for the
past five years with four different winners,
but it appears that BMW is ramping up to
take another crack at it with its new R
1200 GS HP2.
Before the world's press got an opportunity to ride the bike, it was already scoring excellent results in various events. The
bike took a victory in the Austrian Erzberg
race with Finnish rider Simo Kirssi giving
the HP2 its first win. Jimmy Lewis, Dave
Donatoni and Tim Morton finished 10th in
