Join an off-road adventure with Dakar racer Simon Pavey

BMW Motorrad UK
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Media Information 22 December 2010

Join an off-road adventure with Dakar racer Simon Pavey

BMW Off Road Skills' Chief Instructor will be leading the adventure-sports special Portuguese Paradise tour on 29 February – 04 March 2011

BMW Off Road Skills’ Chief Instructor Simon Pavey is just about to set off for his eighth Dakar Rally. The British-based Australian racer will be departing on Christmas day for the 6000 mile trip to Buenos Aires, where he'll be reunited with his one-off BMW G 450 X race bike.

The Dakar is arguably the toughest and most demanding race on the planet, with motorcycles, quads, cars and trucks all competing on a 9,500km route which criss-crosses the vast nations of Argentina and Chile.

Once Simon has returned from the Rally, he'll be packing up his kit once again and heading for the Algarve for an extra-special Portuguese Paradise adventure with BMW Off Road Skills.

Following the ‘Enduro Only’ trip in November 2010 - which was based entirely around the stunning G 450 X enduro bike, the machine Pavey's Dakar bike is based on - Simon felt that there was even more potential fun to be had from this stunning region, on a whole host of BMW bikes. February's trip will offer riders the chance to choose between the acclaimed F 800 GS and F 650 GS adventure-sports machines and BMW’s G 450 X.

Riders choosing the GS option will spend four out of the five days riding in the hills of southern Portugal, exploring the endless ribbons of perfect car-free tarmac and hundreds of kilometres of winding off-road trails. On the Wednesday of the five-day trip, riders will be given the opportunity to experience an ‘Enduro’ taster day, with a short lesson on the differences of riding an Enduro bike, before heading into the hills to discover Portugal away from the beaten tracks!

Likewise, the Enduro holiday is the reverse, with four days concentrated on the challenging off-road riding the Enduro bike encourages, taking in areas that few visitors will ever get to see. Then on the Wednesday riders get to see a little more of Portugal, with the group heading to the famous Fort Sagres on the south west cape on one of BMW's hugely popular parallel twin GS motorcycles.

Simon Pavey said: “I'm about to set off for the biggest off-road race in the world, and I'm feeling very confident. My G 450 X is the most competitive bike I've ever had for the Dakar Rally. And once I'm back in Britain it'll almost be time to pack up and head back to Portugal for another of our popular adventure tours. And this time we're taking both GS bikes and enduro machines, like mine. It'll be the best BMW Off Road Skills trip ever.

“This tour encompasses a mixture of riding to suit all styles of off-road enthusiast. From endless twisty mountain roads, fire tracks and water crossings to beautiful forest trails and technical single tracks: it’s a dream tour.”

Riders will be able to fly directly into Faro Airport and hotel transfers are provided by BMW Off Road Skills. The tour costs £1,995 per person, which includes motorcycle hire, fuel, six nights of 5-star accommodation, breakfast and lunch, an Off Road Skills guide and a back-up vehicle, as well as hotel transfers. It does not include evening meals, drinks or flights.

Participants must have confidently completed the BMW Off Road Skills Level One course, or have equivalent off-road riding experience. To keep up to date with Simon's Rally visit www.simonpavey.com or follow him on Facebook. For more information on the wide range of courses and activities available for 2011, visit www.worldofbmw.com.