Trial and enduro riders Adam Raga and Alfredo Gómez are taking refuge in the largest machinery scrapyard in Europe due to the limitations to train in the countryside.
A multi world trial champion with no place to train. An international extreme Enduro figure persecuted for pursuing his passion. Adam Raga and Alfredo Gómez are just two of the thousands of off-road riders who suffer from the problems caused by introducing an off-road motorcycle into their natural habitat, something forbidden in many cases. A limitation that complicates the development of these activities and the future of the athletes and has forced them to look for alternatives, such as Red Bull Scrapyard.
Adam and Alfredo went into the heart of the largest machinery scrapyard in Europe, in Benavente, to show what they are capable of. Surrounded by tons of old machines spread over 230,000 square meters, the two pilots have starred in a story with roots in reality.
“It’s forbidden to ride motorcycles almost everywhere that is not a road, so the situation is very complicated. Abusive practice is not good, but I don’t think it makes sense that you can’t ride on private farms, firebreaks or abandoned trails,” says Alfredo. “It is very unfair that many people think that we are almost criminals, that we are destroying the mountain. We love nature and we are there when we have to help. Besides, a trial bike has a minimal effect,” Adam adds.
For years, the off-road community has been calling for a regulation to allow them to practice their hobby in coexistence with others. “I would like it to be legislated, like hunting, for example, which has reserves where you pay a fee and can practice it,” says Alfredo, this year’s winner of the most extreme Hard Enduro race in the world: the Erzberg Rodeo.
In their story in the scrapyard, both riders flee from the security forces to the machinery cemetery to train, but they are not safe there either, as they are discovered by the security of the site. Will they manage to escape among bulldozers, mechanical grapples and the remains of these machines that lived better times? For the moment, one thing is clear: “It’s the most incredible place we’ve ever ridden a motorcycle”.
