The last few years have been extraordinary for Pol Tarrés, and the last few months have seen the Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team rider continue to write a veritable success story.
After winning the Transanatolia in 2023, this year Tarrés took third place in the Africa Eco Race in January, won the Morocco Desert Challenge in April and set a new altitude world record aboard his trusty Yamaha Ténéré 700.
Total domination in Morocco
After eight demanding stages and over 3,000km of racing over some of the toughest terrain on the planet in the Morocco Desert Challenge 2024, Tarrés triumphed in dominant style.
The Andorran scored six stage victories, the first four and the last two, finishing in the top three. with a margin of 2h 21′ 06” over his closest rivalriding his Ténéré 700 World Rally equipped with GYTR parts. This success enabled him to make history by becoming the first rider to win the event on a twin-cylinder trail bike, beating his rivals on 450cc single-cylinder prototypes, which had dominated the race until then.
Rapid progress since 2022
The former hard enduro rider has only been competing in Rallye-Raid since 2022, which makes his achievements in Morocco all the more impressive.
Looking back on his Moroccan exploits, Tarrés declared: ” It was my first rally victory in Africa, and that’s very important for me. My Ténéré 700 World Rally, with its GYTR parts, was incredible throughout the rally and never missed a beat. I was able to attack on most of the stages because I had a very good feeling with the bike. The Morocco Desert Challenge lived up to its reputation. we succeeded, we won and I’m very happy about that. Not just for me, but for the whole team who worked tirelessly to get us here.
Interact with Ténéré Spirit Experience customers
About the Ténéré Spirit Experience customers who were with him at theAfrica Eco Race in January and Morocco Desert Challenge – including Stéphane Poulet who finished the Moroccan rally in a respectable 17th place overall – Tarrés declared: “Ait’s nice to see customers with us on our runs because you can see that they’re having an incredible time, that they’re discovering what Rallye-Raid really is, and that they’re pushing themselves to improve their driving”.
He adds: “Their age and level of piloting vary, and It’s interesting to see what they get out of it, and how exciting it is for them to be there with their Ténéré bikes as another member of our team. They get excellent support from our mechanics and team, and it’s great to talk to them on the bivouac in the evenings and witness their passion for motorcycling.
Ever higher
Tarrés has also set himself the goal ofreaching new heights. Two years after making history by setting a world altitude record aboard the Yamaha Ténéré 700, Tarrés returned to Chile in March and set the bar even higher. By reaching the astonishing height of 6,677 metres with its Ténéré World Raid GYTR in Stage 3 configuration, he officially set a new record for the highest altitude reached by a twin-cylinder motorcycle. During the reconnaissance that preceded this ultimately successful world record attempt, Tarrés also established a new record for the highest altitude ever recorded on a single-cylinder motorcycle, reaching 6,756 metres on a cross-country Yamaha YZ450FX.
