The BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy Female Team Qualifier 2019 came to an exciting finish after three days of adventure motorcycling competition near Málaga, Spain. 31 women representing 20 countries all over the world competed for one of the six places on offer in what will be the seventh running of the prestigious BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy, to be held in New Zealand in February 2020.
While prior to the event BMW Motorrad had guaranteed places for three women (one team) in the New Zealand competition, for the second time in GS Trophy history the quality of the riders in this women’s qualifier was of such a standard that a second team of three deserved to be included. In the 2017 event this had been communicated at the end of the competition, but this year it was announced ahead of the third and final day, so each could do their utmost to qualify.
The final day’s super test did then see the leader board reshuffle, bringing joy and heartbreak in equal measure. Finally, though, the International GS Trophy 2020 has its six women competitors: Isabella Londono Rivas from Colombia, Nikki van der Spek from the Netherlands, Claire Bichard from France, Lisa Taylor from the USA, Andrea Box from Australia and Klara Finkele from the United Kingdom.
It’s worth highlighting just how successful this event has become. The first female qualifier, held in 2015, saw ten finalists picked from over 100 applicants. In 2017, 23 competitors won their place in the female final through their national/regional GS Trophy qualifiers.
This year, such has been the growth in interest from international GS communities that 32 (including one last minute cancellation) women qualified through to this final.
Unquestionably, this growth both in numbers and riding quality reflects the continued worldwide rise in women’s interest in adventure motorcycling. This year the newly participating countries were Argentina, Brazil, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Netherlands and Norway.
The presence of competitors from some of those countries –reflects changing attitudes towards women participating in recreational motorcycling.
Source : BMW
