Greetings from Ronda in Spain. Once again I had to suffer the luggage nightmare as Monarch had left all my riding gear in Manchester! 7 hours later it arrived! I headed into Malaga for a meal whilst waiting. KTM didn't provide any transport on this one but Jezza was already down in Guadix racing cars so he kindly picked me up on his way to Ronda. On those winding roads up to Ronda Jezza tried to make a religious man out of me with his driving and he very nearly succeeded! Never ever have I been in a faster Ford Fiesta! Anyway, we're both here now ready for some KTM RC8 1190 action at Ascari and on the roads tomorrow. Tor
19/02/2008 BMW F 800 GS
And the Ultimate BMW F800GS launch film ready...
16/02/2008
First onboard video from the F 800 GS launch now ready!
14/02/2008 BMW F 650 GS, Durban South Africa
I celebrated Valentines day on a red BMW F 650 GS in fantastic weather by the Indian Ocean!
13/02/2008 BMW F 800 GS, Durban South Africa
After breakfast the keys was handed out for our F 800 GS test bikes. Lined up outside the hotel lobby must have been at least 30 bikes so a big launch.
11-12/02/2008 BMW F 800 GS, Durban South Africa
Headed out to Manchester airport just after lunch to catch my flight to Frankfurt to connect on a SAA Cape Town flight. All went smooth and when I finally arrived in Cape Town after a 12 hour flight the sunrise was fantastic and promising from a weather perspective. After chilling out in the business lounge for about an hour I flew to Durban 2 hours North East. Whilst enjoying the view of the Indian Ocean I could also see that there were a lot of clouds around and rain was forecasted. Rain it did as well after I checked in at the Zimbali Lodge. My room had a nice forest view which I rested my eyes upon whilst enjoying a glass of South Africa's finest red. Later in the afternoon BMW had scheduled the press conference at the Colisheen estate further up the road. BMW nailed down some of the most important details from the press kit and then we were entertained by some lively African music whilst having some tender grilled Springbok and lobster. Can't get much better than that, or can it? yes of course it can, because tomorrow we ride the F 800 GS!
09/02/2008
This past week has been busy. I have booked my flights to Spain for the KTM RC8 1190 launch and I have received my flight schedule for the BMW F 800 GS & F 650 GS world launch in South Africa next week. I leave already on Monday morning and it will take me 15 hours in the air to get to Durban (more like 20 hours including hanging out at airports). First a connecting flight from Manchester to Frankfurt. Then 12 hours on a flight from Frankfurt to Cape Town. Then a 2 hour connecting flight from Cape Town to Durban. It looks like I'll have the first day free to put my toes into the Indian Ocean getting rid of the jet-lag before the evening press conference. Suits me fine that! Early morning Wednesday I ride the F 800 GS all day in the Drakenberg mountains. On Thursday I ride the F 650 GS before flying home that same afternoon. I have also finished part 1 of my bigger CO2 and motorcycles feature that I will run during the week along with extensive BMW F 800 GS coverage. If BMW have got the F 800 GS right, I am pretty certain it can become BMW's best selling motorcycle next year. And also more sought after than the F 800 S and ST. It remains to see and we'll know a whole lot more next week. As a bonus, I made another Ducati 1098R video with the first 4 laps previously unseen. It was on popular demand so I hope you'll check it out. TS
04/02/2008
Have finished the two main videos from the 1098R launch at Jerez. I have still got a request to publish the three first laps from the onboard session as there's some cool action there between McWilliams and Fabrizio. So I'll do a fairly un-edited version where I'll leave all sound and wind noise on. Guess ratings will plummet, but it's a bonus for fans anyway. I am now discussing the KTM RC8 1190 launch with Jeremy. What we want to do is a split where McWilliams do the Ascari bit and I do the road riding and all filming. But before that launch I'm flying to South Africa to ride the new BMW F 800 GS in 10 days. I am also trying to squeeze in a couple of fly-away Italian bike tests before that time. We shall see. Italian Motociclismo got some sort of exclusive preview of the 2008 Bimota DB7 1098 last week. The official launch is not until May at Misano and I'll be there. Ciao. TS
