Ahead of the start of the 2024 WorldSBK season, Toprak Razgatlioglu hopped on a BMW F 900 GS in Turkiye and went head-to-head with a Skoda rally car.
Although BMW is not most renowned for its off-road credentials, it does have quite a few Dakar rally wins to its name. Its first win came in 1981, when Hubert Auriol won on an R80 G/S, a bike that won again in 1984, and in the following two editions.
BMW’s next Dakar success came over a decade later in 1999, this time with the F650 RR and Richard Sainct. The following year, 2000, BMW locked out the podium with the F650 RR first (Sainct) and second (Oscar Gallardo), ahead of an R900 GS in third place ridden by the American Jimmy Lewis. This 2000 victory was the final one for a manufacturer other than KTM until Ricky Brabec (who took his second Dakar victory in this year’s edition) won for Honda in 2020.
Razgatlioglu, a known enjoyer of enduro riding, probably had to console himself somewhat when joining BMW from Yamaha over the winter at the Germans’ lack of a proper enduro or motocross machine.
On the other hand, its adventure range is probably the one most valued by today’s motorcycle market, and while the new R 1300 GS took the headlines in 2023, the F900 GS also makes a handy off-roader, as shown by Razgatlioglu in a recent video from Red Bull Motorsports.
Razgatlioglu puts the F900 GS up against a Skoda Fabia Rally2 Evo (that’s the previous generation Skoda Rally2-class rally car) through some Turkish canyon roads to demonstrate the abilities of both himself and the bike, and throws in a customary stoppie or two, as well.
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Image credit: Red Bull Motorsports/YouTube.
