British Moto-Journalist Kevin Ash Dies at 2013 BMW R1200GS Press Launch

(Updated with a message written by Kevin Ash’s oldest daughter, posted on the header of his blog AshOnBikes.)

Respected British motorcycle journalist Kevin Ash has died following an accident at a BMW press launch in South Africa for the R1200GS.

Ash was a long-time columnist at the U.K.’s MCN as well as the founder of British magazine Fast Bikes. Ash was also a popular freelancer, most notably as the regular motorcycle correspondent for the British newspaper the Daily Telegraph.

BMW released a statement on the Ash’s death, saying: “It is with deep regret that BMW Motorrad confirms the fatal injury of Kevin Ash in a motorcycle accident during a launch event in South Africa. The accident happened to the north of a town called George, 250 kilometres east of Cape Town. Out of respect for Kevin’s family and friends, no further information is being made available at this time.”

Our own Kevin Duke was at the same press launch and was in one of the next groups following Ash’s contingent of journalists.

“We came up on the accident scene not long after it happened but were stopped short of the site and couldn’t see much. After about 10 minutes, we were told Ash had expired,” Duke says. He adds the mood in South Africa was very somber and the press launch was understandably cancelled.

Ash also ran a blog, AshOnBikes, publishing his own reviews and columns. His background in engineering made him an excellent choice to write MCN’s “Techwatch” column and his recent article about Yamaha’s three-cylinder crossplane concept may be the best anyone’s published on the subject.

Our sincerest condolences to Ash’s wife and three daughters.

Below is a message posted on the header of AshOnBikes by Ash’s oldest daughter:

Kevin Ash passed away on January 22nd, due to a motorcycle accident during a press launch in South Africa.

The phrase ‘he died doing what he loved’ sprang to mind, but I would like to stamp that firmly out. He loved his family more, and we love him.

As his oldest daughter, I only recently started to fully realise just how much further his parenting went than most; on receiving a tearful phone call at Stansted airport, it was a natural response to immediately cancel his press launch and ride back home to teach trigonometry the night before exams.

Everything he did was entirely for his children and his wife, and a little bit for his cat.

My parents loved each other very much, and I hope that one day we can learn to live without him.

[Source: AshOnBikes]

By Dennis Chung