South Tyneside petrolhead bags brand new £15,000 motorbike in online competition

May 2021

Richard Reed, 46, was at work when he received a video call informing him he had been the lucky winner of the weekly draw hosted by ‘dream car and lifestyle company’ BOTB and, consequently, had bagged himself a brand-new BMW R1250 GS Adventure worth around £15,000.

The network engineer from Jarrow noted the coincidence of the prize win, since he was just about to take the final test to obtain his full motorbike licence.

“This is crazy,” he said, reacting to the news.

“I’m in the middle of trying to get a bike now! I don’t believe it!”

The BMW R1250 GS Adventure is the same motorbike as the one used by Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman for their ‘The Long Way Around’ series, which saw the pair document their 19,000 motorbike journey around the world.

“I’m going through my full bike licence right now and I’m absolutely loving it,” the South Tyneside father of four explained.

“I’ve got my final test at the end of this month so this is absolutely perfect timing.”

Mr Reed said he has watched a lot of TV shows about motorbikes down the years and that this particular model had been top of his personal wish list for some time.

“I watched one particular show where the presenters travelled on these BMW bikes from London to Bangkok and I thought I definitely want one of those!”

Christian Williams is a presenter who contacts BOTB competition winners each weak on behalf of the company. The firm, which has stands at major airports across the country, was founded by William Hindmarch in 1999 and has given away more than £37million-worth of cars since it was first established.

He said: “Surely any timing is perfect to win your dream car or bike but the timing couldn’t have been better for Richard. I wish him the best of luck in his final test to get his licence and look forward to hearing all about his adventures on his new bike!”