The BMW R80 G/S won the 1983 Paris-Dakar Rally for BMW with rider Hubert Auriol.
Auriol's victory came on the R80 G/S, BMW's pioneering large-capacity travel enduro. The motorcycle combined an air-cooled boxer twin with long-travel suspension and shaft drive, a layout that helped establish the modern adventure-motorcycle category.
The 1983 result was the second consecutive Paris-Dakar victory for Auriol and BMW. The race covered demanding terrain across Africa, making durability, fuel range and serviceability crucial alongside speed.
The R80 G/S is sometimes confused with the later R100 GS, which used a larger engine and became another important BMW adventure model. The G/S designation stood for Gelände/Straße, meaning off-road/road in German.