BMW G 450 X Microsite

A grand total of 14 riders representing the TEAM MAX BMW dealership in New Hampshire made the long journey to South Carolina to compete in the annual Sandblast Rally, which takes place on closed roads throughout the Sand Hills State Forest. It was the fourth time in the rally’s 14 year history that a team from the dealership was represented, but they had never encountered weather conditions like these before.

The rally cars and motorcycles that compete at the Sandblast Rally have to be fully street legal, registered and insured, and this is one of the reasons why it is attracting a growing contingent of BMW riders. Using a selection of BMWs – including six G 450 X machines, four HP2 Enduros, an R 1150 GS, an R 100 GSPD, and an F 650 GS Dakar – the BMW enthusiasts joined a selection of all-wheel drive vehicles and other motorcycle competitors to tackle several stages through the forests at speed, with driver and rider skills coming to the forefront on what are usually fairly sandy roads.

However, heavy rain had saturated the sand to the point where one stage had to be removed from the rally completely. On the roads themselves, the top layer of sand had eroded to leave a wet clay surface, and to make the event even more challenging, a foggy drizzle moved in just after the start to further impede comfort and visibility.

For TEAM MAX BMW, the drama began early. G 450 X rider Pete Canning passed the spectator area on Stage 2 with his brand new goggles slapping against the back of his helmet, rendered ineffective by rain and flying sand. As the G 450 X carrying Ben Stratton appeared over the rise, it was missing the front mudguard and Ben’s eye protection was also entirely gone. A fuel bottle that had fallen out of the tail-bag of another rider in front of TJ Jarrett’s G 450 X completely smashed up the bike’s ‘beak’. However, despite everything, after the first two stages, all 14 TEAM MAX BMW riders were still upright and twisting their throttles hard.

The remainder of the Sandblast Rally offered up some good battles on each stage. With some of the stages being nearly 15 miles (25 kilometres) long, the experienced riders had the possibility to gain a lot of ground on their rivals. Jimi Heyder, riding a G 450 X in his first rally, aggressively climbed through the field on the early stages while Joe Warner on his HP2 Enduro ‘locked horns’ with a Husaberg rider throughout the day.

In the Service areas, bikes were refuelled, repairs made, power bars consumed and stories swapped. To the delight of Ben Stratton (who had damaged his mudguard in the early part of the rally and had constantly been peppered in the face with sand and mud) a new fender and headlight assembly was delivered to the service. This kind act was carried out by one of the crew of the BMW Motorcycles of Atlanta dealership, who had heard about Ben’s situation and organised for this part to be taken off one of their spare bikes. This gesture of sportsmanship kept Ben in the rally.

Whereas a clear day may have offered enough light for the competitors to see beyond their headlights on the final stage, the bad weather conditions made it tough for the riders. Many of the rally spectators stayed right until the end though, and two of the crowd favourites belonged to TEAM MAX BMW, as the distinctive dual headlights and honking horn of Jason Adams’ BMW R 100 GSPD drew much applause and when Pete Canning came flying through the darkness on his G 450 X with no operating headlight at all, his bravery earned him the loudest cheer of the day.

By the time the rally was over, and after the bikes were loaded into vans and onto trailers, the consensus among all the riders was that Sandblast 2010 had proven to be the toughest rally yet. The team and the bikes had been up to the challenge, with a high number of finishers and podiums achieved by Max Stratton and Doug Morrison, who finished in second and third place respectively in the Heavy Class. A look at the results sheet revealed a solid effort by all the TEAM MAX BMW riders, much to the delight of Max Stratton.

“This year’s Sandblast Rally was a big success, and the variable weather conditions just made it all the more interesting,” he said. “We had lots of support in the crowd and a big team of volunteers helping out, without whom our rally efforts wouldn’t have been possible, so thanks to all of them. It was great to meet up with old friends again and have BMW bikes represented in three different classes in the kind of rally where you can turn up on the bike you ride every day, race it, and then ride home again. Thanks to everyone who came to support us!”

Sandblast Rally results:

HEAVY:
Max Stratton (HP2) – 2nd
Doug Morrison (HP2) – 3rd
Joe Warner (HP2) – 4th
Jason Adams (R100 GSPD) – 9th
Steve Mauk (HP2) – 10th
Jim Camp (F650 GS Dakar) – 11th
Jimmy Doustou (R 1150 GS) – withdrew

MEDIUM MODIFIED:
Ben Stratton (G 450 X) – 9th
TJ Jarrett (G 450 X) – withdrew

MEDIUM STOCK:
Peter Canning (G 450 X) – 5th
Andrew Phillips (G 450 X) – 9th
Rob Nye (G 450 X) – 11th