Sand, surf and smiles all round.
What a fantastic second day of action and discovery in New Zealand for the 22 teams of riders contesting this seventh edition of the Int. GS Trophy. Today’s 380-kilometre route took the riders south from Napier towards the small beachside town of Castlepoint on the Wairarapa coast. Along the way two Special stages brought action and excitement aplenty.
Strength in numbers.
Strength in numbers.
The first of these Specials was a ‘gravel push’ parcours on the beach just 30 kilometres into the day. Engines off and towing straps out, team coordination and brute force were the essential ingredients in this timed exercise. A twisty liaison then led to another highlight – a superb sandy ride with ‘drifting practice’ across Pourerere Beach.
Slippery when wet.
Slippery when wet.
The second Special took place at Herbertville beach and was aptly titled the ‘Burt Munro Memorial Sprint’, as a nod to the famous Kiwi sprint racer. A high tide had left the beach nicely damp, which made this challenge entertaining to watch and even more fun to ride. Lunch was then taken overlooking the Pacific Ocean before heading off on a mix of on and off-road trails through forests and across hills to another beach-side location for the night.
Captured on camera.
Captured on camera.
Today the first of two Photo Competitions was held, with teams submitting their best compositions to be presented on the gstrophy.com website for 24 hours of public voting. And to cap off an action-packed day, the teams were treated to a sheep-handling demonstration before the points for the day were awarded for the two Special stages.
After another strong performance on day 2 of 8, Team South Korea lead the standings, with France in second and USA in third.