BMW Motorrad International GS Trophy Southeast Asia 2016, Day 3. Memorable mountain motorcycling from Mae Hong Son to Mae Sariang.

With a significant distance to cover, the day started early with a pre-dawn striking of camp, and a 7am departure in preparation for the longest day in the saddle so far. Conditions were initially cool but quickly warmed up as the teams climbed their way to around 1,500 metres, while riding the ridge-lines from one mountain range to another on a mix of clay, dust and sandy surfaces, that are more typically associated with closed-course enduro racing.

The first Special came after about 75 kilometres of off-road heaven through national parkland, overlooking high-altitude tiered rice fields and tackling numerous switchbacks and narrow tracks along the way. The Special took place in an area of giant Bamboo trees, and competitors first had to guess how many bamboo stalks were growing in a certain area. Then, a team member needed to climb a tree around four metres high to find a hidden message, the contents of which needed to be delivered to their Marshal. Finally, the team had to guess how many metres above sea level they were, without looking at their GPS units!

Another 90 kilometres of the remotest Thailand unfolded before the competitors' eyes as they rode from village to village – much to the amusement of the locals, who spilled out onto their streets as the GS Trophy circus passed through, with screams of delight from school children, friendly waves from market traders and enthusiastic welcomes whenever the riders stopped to take in the special atmosphere.

A wide river crossing and the welcome shade of a native forest helped keep everyone cool as temperatures climbed well into the 30s en route to the second Special, where teams enjoyed a speed and braking exercise. Accelerating hard over 70 metres, then stopping the front wheel inside a marked box sounds easy, but when the adrenaline and pressure of competition kicks in, it proved to be harder than it looked for many. Not so for Team South Africa, who were clinical in this exercise.

Following this Special was a dream section of tarmac for road riders – and in this case off-road enthusiasts – as the 90km undulating final liaison twisted and turned all the way to the next bivouac at Mae Sariang, offering far-reaching views into the valleys below and mountains beyond. Refreshments on arrival at the camp in the Salawin national park never tasted so good.

It was a truly memorable day for all competitors, but perhaps none more so than the new countries and their teams experiencing the GS Trophy adventure for the first time. Among these are Team China and Team Southeast Asia, who gave us their first impressions.

Tommy Lee Boon Jun, Singapore, Team South East Asia

“I think we are enjoying the GS Trophy maybe a little too much! We were very serious initially but then we made lots and lots of mistakes, so we decided instead to enjoy the event, because it is a great-great event. It’s great to meet so many people with the same interest, and with very similar riding capability, so we ride together well. It’s hugely enjoyable.”

Liang Wen-Hao, China:

“We are enjoying the GS Trophy very much. I’ve personally owned a GS since 2006, so this is a wonderful celebration of the past ten years for me, I knew I must come to this event. With all the riders from around the world, it’s so special, it’s every GS rider’s dream.

“As a team, we chose to ride here, rather than fly, it was four days to get here, but that helped unify us before we started. We love Thailand as well, all the people are smiling, the people in China call Thailand ‘the smiling country’, it’s a special place.”

As is traditional at the Trophy, all points were totalled after the evening meal and there was quite a change in the leaderboard – thanks in part to the results of the teams' photo competition that was massively supported worldwide and won by some margin by Latin America. As things stand after day three, Team South Africa have consolidated their leading position from yesterday, with Latin America and Germany 17 and 22 points behind respectively.

Catch all the latest updates online at gstrophy.com and also via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Results BMW Motorrad Int. GS Trophy 2016 Day Three:

1          South Africa                                       124 pts.

2          Latin America                                     107 pts.

3          Germany                                            102 pts.

4          Brazil                                                  98 pts.

4          CEEU                                                98 pts.

4          UK                                                      98 pts.

7          China                                                 95 pts.

8          Argentina                                          89 pts.

  9        Mexico                                               86 pts.

10       France                                               85 pts.

11       USA                                                   84 pts.

12       Russia                                                80 pts.

13       Canada                                              75 pts.

14       Italy                                                    67 pts

15       International Female Team               59 pts.

16       Alps                                                    58 pts.

16       South East Asia                                 58 pts.

18       Japan                                                 51 pts.

19       South Korea                                       49 pts.