BMW Motorrad, BMW's motorcycle institutional sector, held the Int. GS Trophy Qualifier KR on the 18th and 19th around Mokgyenaru in Eomjeong-myeon, Chungju, North Chungcheong Province, and selected two Korean riders to represent Korea at the Int. GS Trophy 2026 to be held next summer in Romania.
The Int. GS Trophy is an international adventure motorcycle competition that tests riding skills on BMW's touring enduro motorcycle lineup, the GS models, and is a festival where GS motorcycle riders from around the world gather to share adventure, challenge, culture and friendship. First held in Tunisia in 2008, it has been held regularly every two years, and any amateur rider who owns a GS model can challenge it.
The Int. GS Trophy Qualifier KR, now in its seventh edition, featured 15 male riders this year who competed not only in off-road riding skills but also in various areas such as the physical fitness and English conversational ability needed for the GS Trophy adventure.
In the preliminary round, riders used their own BMW GS lineup motorcycles to test motorcycle pulling and full lock riding, log riding, sand and gravel road riding, crossing difficult terrain and other high-difficulty obstacle passes and riding skills, and comprehensive ability measurements were conducted, including physical fitness measurements and English conversational ability tests.
In the finals, performance evaluations were conducted on higher-difficulty tasks together with the R 1300 GS model. As a result, the top finishers Jeong Chan-ju (1st) and Choi Yun-sun (2nd) were finally selected as Korea's representatives. They will form a team and compete in the Int. GS Trophy 2026 finals in Romania next summer against riders selected from around the world.
Romania, the host of the Int. GS Trophy 2026, offers a variety of terrains that stimulate the adventurous spirit of off-road enthusiasts, and the BMW R 12 G/S, which combines excellent off-road tractability, long-distance riding capability and dynamic on-road performance, will be deployed as the competition motorcycle.
The Korean team has consistently participated in every event starting with the Int. GS Trophy 2014 held in Canada. In 2020, at the Int. GS Trophy 2020 held in New Zealand, it achieved its best-ever result by finishing fifth.
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