Star bikers Charley Boorman and Ross Noble take on Fifth Gear TV challenge at BMW Off Road Skills

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“What could possibly go wrong”

What’s better: bikes or cars? It’s a question that’s sparked off many a discussion between petrol heads and race fans. And it’s one that keeps coming up on top motoring show Fifth Gear. They’ve raced superbikes against sports cars, pitched riders against drivers, run quarter miles and set blistering times around tracks.

On this week’s show (Thursday 01 July on Channel Five at 7:30pm) they leave the tarmac behind and visit the BMW Off Road Skills centre in Wales to take on a pair of R 1200 GS Adventures – a bike which has proven its off-road credentials time and time again. Fifth Gear presenters Tiff Needell and Jason Plato set up a series of challenges for the bikes and cars to compete in – all they needed was two willing riders.

First up is adventurer and TV star Charley Boorman. Charley has ridden around the world for the Long Way Round TV series and from John o’ Groats to Cape Town on a BMW R 1200 GS Adventure. The second seat is taken by bike-mad comedian Ross Noble – who recently completed a stand-up tour of Australia, travelling around the country on his R 1150 GS.

It was a Pro-Am challenge – with Charley and Ross each teamed up with a Fifth Gear presenter. Tune into the show tomorrow night to see how it went…

Simon Pavey, seven-time Dakar competitor and Chief Instructor at Off Road Skills said: “It was great to have Charley and Ross back here at Off Road Skills. They’re both skilled riders – and top blokes. I helped teach Charley to ride before he set off on the Long Way Round and he’s been improving ever since. Ross is a massive bike fan and a GS owner too.”

BMW Off Road Skills is based in the stunning Brecon Beacons. The team of expert instructors, led by Dakar legend Simon Pavey, run a variety of courses which teach the skills required to ride off-road in the fantastic 4,000-acre Walters Arena in Wales.

To follow in Charley and Ross’ footsteps book your place on a BMW Off Road Skills course, spaces are still available on a number of dates. Visit www.worldofbmw.com or call on free phone 08000 131 282.

Jason Plato, Charley Boorman, Ross Noble and Tiff Needell (Credit: Robert Leveritt)

The weekend of 05-06 June saw the selection of Team UK for the International BMW Motorrad GS Trophy 2010 to be held later this year in Southern Africa. The event involved 90 GS owners competing for just three places in the team at the 4000 acre Walter’s Arena in Wales – home of BMW Off Road Skills.

The three GS-owning riders who will be representing the UK are Alastair Allan who took first place in the final round, Kevin Hammond in second and Mark Kinnard in third.

The competitors were put through five varied stages testing a range of off-road and machine control skills. By the end of the first day the 20 top-scoring riders moved on to the next round – and every stage was extended and made a little more challenging. Sunday saw the 20 reduced to five – who then faced a final round. The tension was palpable, with the spectators following from event to event to cheer on the finalists.

The excitement rose to a peak when the scores were tallied and there was a tie for the final space in the UK team – when the instructors decided that the two hopefuls should ride the final stage again – backwards! Rider Mark Kinnard took the final spot in a truly nail-biting end to the UK qualifier.

The tests were completed on a range of 5 different BMW on-off road motorcycles with the final two rounds completed exclusively on the F 800 GS – the machine selected for the International GS Trophy Final .

The UK qualifying event and five special stages created were organised by seven-time Dakar rally competitor Simon Pavey and judged by his team of BMW Off Road Skills instructors and expert volunteers.

Simon Pavey, Chief Instructor at BMW Off Road Skills said: ‘Overall the event was a great success. We had 90 GS owners with a wide range of skills from the Level One of the Off Road Skills course through to life-long off-road riders competing on a challenging course but they all entered into the spirit of the event and it was fun for all involved. The standard of riding was excellent, especially among the finalists.’

The international round of the GS Trophy takes place from 13 – 21 November across South Africa, Swaziland and Mozambique and involves teams of riders from around the world competing in off-road challenges and competitions. Other nations entering include the USA, Canada, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Scandinavia (Denmark/Sweden/Norway/Finland), South Africa and Switzerland/Austria.

For a full list of results from the UK qualifying event of the GS Trophy 2010 click on the links to the right.

World of BMW are pleased to confirm actor and adventurer, Charley Boorman and comedian Ross Noble’s attendance at Simon Pavey’s BMW Off Road Skills School this summer.
Famed for his riding adventures across America, Europe, Africa and Asia, the star of Long Way Round, Long Way Down, Race to Dakar and By Any Means, will be brushing up on his off-road riding, with Dakar legend and chief off-road skills instructor, Simon Pavey.
And if one celeb isn’t enough, comedy legend Ross Noble will also be taking part in some enduro style riding in June. Aside from being a barrel of laughs, Ross is also a passionate biker and most recently completed a 26,000km trip across Australia on a BMW R 1150 GS Adventure.
Simon Pavey, who is currently on Charley Boorman’s Live Tour until the end of March, said: “It will be great fun having Charley and Ross on board. Having taught Charley the basics of off-road riding and watched him complete one off-road adventure after another it has given me great satisfaction. Perhaps – he’ll even have a go at a bit of teaching!
“Ross is also a talented off-road rider, and I look forward to a few jokes as he charges along!”
Set in the heart of the Brecon Beacons, BMW Off Road Skills offers customers the opportunity to develop off-road riding skills or improve on skills already gained.  The two day course takes place at the impressive Walters Arena – a location which boasts over 4,000-acres of land and numerous trails.

Off Road Skills courses are open to anyone over 21 with a full motorcycle licence. Experienced instructors guide participants through a learning programme designed to give them the best possible grounding for getting the maximum enjoyment out of off-road riding.

Simon Pavey, said: “Our enthusiasm for motorcycling is self evident in every one of our instructors. We love everything about riding and are constantly looking at new ways to give our customers the ultimate motorcycling experience. Our courses cater for every level and we also offer riding experiences such as Brecon Beacons Discovery and Day in the Dirt which are ideal for participants to consolidate the essential skills learned on our courses.”

For more information on BMW Off Roads Skills please call 08000 131 282 or visit www.offroadskills.com

Portugal 2010 – A picture of Paradise

Sun, sea, great roads and better off road. It sounds like paradise and the Off Road Skills Portugal trip in February was a bike riders heaven. And if it wasn’t for the unlucky weather system that gave Portugal it’s worst weather in a very long time, it would have been absolutely perfect.

Using the www.Biketruck.com arctic lorry to ship eight brand-new F800 GS, six G650 X-Challenge, a handful of the X-Country and all the ORS kit, the team found their home in the costal resort of Vilamoura, a mere 15km from the nearest major airport in Faro. Flying in the week before to set everything up, we quickly discovered the potential that Portugal has, with great tarmac, phenomenal dirt and incredible views. This was going to be a great few weeks riding.

Simon has been harping on about the riding in the Algarve ever since he returned from three weeks in the sun, guiding dealers around on the F800 GS launch back in ’08 and so he decided the time had come for another ORS Trip. Joining him on this trip was ORS co-Director Linley, Senior Instructor Gwyn, Senior Technician Evan and junior instructor/photographer Llewelyn.

The plan was for two groups of customers to come over a week each. Joined by a healthy sized group of ten on both weeks, there was great atmosphere and a fantastic two weeks ensued. Based out of the 4 Star Dom Pedro Golf hotel we were surrounded by every holiday activity you could want for you and any additional family members. Many of these remained unused however and over-shadowed though in the wake of the amazing riding.

Setting out at around 8:30 every morning the weeks flew by with mixed weather, but the temperature remained relatively warm despite the mix of sun and rain. Averaging around 130 miles each day, meant the groups were putting in some serious riding time that was split up only for coffee, some serious lunch stops and to admire the incredible views.

The riding is simply stunning, the tarmac is as good as anywhere you’ll ride in the world, the trails are as easy or hard you want, are endless and more fun than a bouncy castle! You need to come on this incredible trip, you haven’t seen riding this good ever. Just ask any one of the customers who joined us for the beginning of what is one of the best overseas tours available anywhere.

We would like to thank all the customers who joined us, John Bentman for his journalistic coverage, all the staff who made this possible and Luis from Dom Pedro for his great support of the ORS Team.

Details of next years tour will become available later in the year.

To see the Images from this years trip click here www.thatcamerakid.com

And coming soon will be a video of the trip too!