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October 2016

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When the BMW G310R debuted, we knew that the Germans would use its small-displacement machine as a platform for other models.

There have been hints that one of those models could be a 300cc-ish adventure bike, and now we get out first glimpse of the so-called BMW G310GS, thanks to Italian magazine Motociclismo.

It’s not clear if we’ll see the 2017 BMW G310GS at this week’s INTERMOT show, or if BMW Motorrad will save the bike for November’s EICMA show, in Italy. Either scenario is equally plausible, and this is something we’ve already covered here at Asphalt & Rubber.

INTERMOT is this week, which means that we will see a few “advanced” previews of some of the machines we can expect at the trade show coming in the next 48hrs or so.

The Germanic brands, BMW and KTM usually debut a number of machines at INTERMOT, and the Japanese manufactures usually have a few bikes for us there, as well.

This means new bike season is upon us in earnest, and the first machine to get leaked, teased, or previewed — however you want to define those words as a marketer — appears to be the BMW R nineT Racer – a café racer styled version of the BMW R nineT platform, which we spotted in CARB filings a couple weeks ago.

The decision on whether to be conservative or aggressive with your choices wasn’t the key in Magny-Cours, rather it was just about having belief in your convictions.

With a drying track, Chaz Davies was one of the few riders to start the race with intermediate tires, and the gamble proved worth the risk for the Ducati rider, as he romped to victory.

In the early stages, with a wet track, Davies was a sitting duck to riders with more grip from full wet-weather tires. The Welshman even said afterwards that “I was so slow that I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone had hit me!”

When the track started to dry, the race came to Davies, and rather than being a sitting duck he became a shark and picked off his rivals. It was an inspired race by Davies who rarely seemed to have push but instead kept calm and allowed the race to come to him.