Jan 'Honza' Žlabek ,

Competitor on GS Trophy 2016 Southeast Asia

When did your love for motorcycles starts and why?

H: Many people thinks I was racing dirt bikes when I was a kid. That’s not true. I started to ride 125cc bike when I was 16 years of age. At 18, my dad bought me ´88 BMW R80GS, which I started to ride off-road, started to race amateur navigation races. And why? It is easy. My dad owns BMW service in Prague. He is reason why I ride motorcycles today.

Why BMW bikes ?

H: As I said before. My dad owns BMW service and he was always riding BMWs. So there was not much other options to ride different brand :D. I am kidding. I always loved the handling of flat twin. There are much more powerful bikes, with better suspension in off-road, but BMW is passion and that is what makes this brand so special.

How many rallyes have you been on and what was the toughest on them?

H: I don’t know how many amateur rallys I did. Plenty. But big ones? I was only three times on Serres Rally in Greece. Hard to say which was toughest. On 2016 I was there with my BMW R1100. I had much heavier bike than others had, so it was quite challenging. In 2017, I had injured my knee badly and I have lost one nail on my left hand after crash in stage 2 of 7, but I finished the rally, so it was painful year. In 2018 everything went great and I have finished 6th overall of about 70 riders, so this one was the riskiest. You choose which was the toughest: D

How long do you teach people to ride better and how many participants have been on your trainings?

H: I teach people to ride adventure bikes for 7 years, so it is hard to count how many people have visited my trainings. Plenty :D

Why you think Turn 2 Gravel events are so important? 

H: There are many off-road schools, but mostly you are only learned how to ride. But I think Turn 2 Gravel is biggest experience you can get. There is tasty food, great music, workshops, lovely people and of course, off-road riding in closed area for whole day. It is all in one pack experience

We heard that you will also join us, as a special guest - instructor on the Mountain Eagle tour from 12.7. - 25.7.2019. What can a person who comes on tour expect from your Skill Development program - what is the idea behind this?

H: Yes I will. I am really looking forward to it, as I think it is going to be awesome. People can expect that I can help them in specific situations. Plus, I will ride 14 days with them, following them and trying to improve their riding skills... Two weeks with off-road trainer?

That is not bad, is it? :)