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The Hafren Rally is one of the longest established motorcycle rallies in the UK. The tough Welsh rally on December 4 will see over 300 motorcycle riders competing on a track designed for trail bikes and taking place on a mixture of open hillside and forest tracks, it runs on the same principle as a car rally or enduro. Liaison sections (where competitors are not racing) are dispersed with timed racing sections and each lap is approximately 25 miles. Riders will cover two laps on race day.
putting the BMW HP2 enduro bike through its paces BMW Motorrad UK has entered a two-man team riding the new HP2 Enduro in the forthcoming rally. Former European Enduro Championship runner-up Jonty Edmunds and freelance journalist Paul Blezard will race BMW’s new high performance off-road motorcycle.
Jonty Edmunds (28) has been riding off-road for over 18 years. He started out in schoolboy motocross and progressed to racing in enduros at age 17, where he became one of the best UK riders. He raced in the British and European Enduro Championships for four years and after retiring from competition he went to university to study photography. He is now a respected journalist and photographer who reports on the World and European Enduro Championships for many international publications.
“I’m really looking forward to racing in this event,” said Edmunds. “I have never ridden in the Hafren before, but have raced in plenty of other rallies and think the HP2 will work well in this type of event. I first rode it at the international launch in Spain earlier this year and really liked it – it’s seriously fast. The bike is suited to the hard-based gravel and forest tracks that we will encounter at the Hafren.”
Paul Blezard is the team’s second rider. He has over 20 years of off-road experience and has competed in many rallies on big trail bikes. “I have raced in nearly every Hafren Rally,” said the freelance journalist. “I love big trail bikes and have competed in many events on various BMWs such as the R100 GS, R1100 GS and the R1150 GS. I even won a class award at the Cambrian Rally on the R1100 GS in 2002 and then again on the R1150 GS in 2004.
“I like the challenge of doing the rally on a big bike, although I have no illusions that I am anywhere near as quick as Jonty. For me, the HP2 is the ultimate BMW. I actually turned my own R1150 GS into an experimental HP with aftermarket parts. I like the fact that the HP2 has telescopic forks and I’m really impressed with the suspension – it just soaks up the bumps.”
