ISSUE 145 NOVEMBER 2022
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You can’t beat a good road trip. We were well overdue one, so Alan and I packed our tents, and headed to Circuit Paul Ricard for one of the toughest bike races you’ll ever see: the 100th Bol d’Or 24-Hour. More than 2500 miles on one of the fastest circuits in Europe, all under the Mediterranean sun with 80,000 French motards up for a party (and busy grenading a few old GS500s at 3am).
Couldn’t be better, could it? Well, yes. We took a pair of GSX-Rs to make it even more memorable – the first one, and what we learnt is likely to be the last one sold here too. Sad in a way, but a sign of the times. It felt like a fitting way for PS to pay tribute to a legend. After all, the GSX-R was the most successful model line in endurance during its lifespan.
We got some quizzical (and pitying) looks from other riders doing Euro-tours on modern bikes as we scrunched-up on the two superbikes. But the extra toil made it feel a real achievement, and more of an event than simply allowing a BMW tourer to waft away the miles. You feel every yard of a 700-mile day on a classic. And would we change it? Not one bit.
Big miles are a bit easier with modern roads, credit cards, and satnav to help... compared to days gone by: Laurent Streiff’s 70,000 miles aboard a TDR250 in the 1990s includes jaunts to Libya from his French home. Find his story on page 82. Our European excursion starts on page 26.
Gix-ahh nutt-ahs
With heavy hearts we remember our fave GSX-Rs
