Double Podium Result for Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team at 2024 Africa Eco Race
The Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team has successfully completed the 2024 Africa Eco Race with Alessandro Botturi finishing in second, and Pol Tarrés securing an impressive third. Claiming seven of the 12 stage victories between themselves, the talented duo were super competitive throughout the event with Botturi taking the race for overall victory down to the penultimate day of racing.
Comprising 12 demanding stages, the Africa Eco Race was, as always, a seriously demanding rally with all competitors racing over 4,500 kilometres against the clock. Beginning with five stages in Morocco, the next six took place in Mauritania before the final stage in Senegal took riders to the finish line in the historic city of Dakar.
From the very first stage, Alessandro Botturi, a two-time winner at the AER, was in contention for what would have been his third victory at the event. Following his stage seven victory, the Italian reduced his gap to the leader to just one minute before an unfortunate six minute time penalty on stage nine derailed his chances of the overall win. Ultimately securing second in the final classification, it was certainly another strong showing for Botturi at the Africa Eco Race.
Pol Tarrés was a revelation at the 2024 AER. Continuing to adapt quickly to rally racing and learning more about the discipline with every passing stage, the Andorran would win three stages on his way to securing third overall. An excellent result for Tarrés who, aboard his Ténéré 700 World Rally bike, raced against the clock for well over 40 hours.
Adding to Yamaha’s success at the 2024 Africa Eco Race, Nicolas Charlier, who competed in the event as part of the Yamaha Ténéré Experience, placed fifth overall in the 700M class with Italy’s Angelo Tazzari of the Twinsbike Racing Team securing sixth.
Special Stage 12 Results
Overall Provisional Classification
Alessandro Botturi – P4 (16m27s)
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“The race is over now after two very long and difficult weeks. The stages pushed us all to our limits and I’m happy about my results. I finished in second place, but all through the race I was very close to the leader. I never gave up and took the fight for the win to the very end. The result is really satisfying and I’m really proud of myself because it was difficult to stay with Jacopo Cerutti and my teammate, Pol, as they were both riding so well. I hope we can come back stronger next year and I’m excited for the future.”
Pol Tarrés – P6 (16m27s)
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“We’re here at the end and it’s been a really great event for myself and the team. For the team to have both riders on the podium is amazing. With the team we’re still learning a lot about the bike and I’m really proud of what we have achieved together. I’m also super happy for Alessandro for finishing second. For myself, I demonstrated that I’m getting faster as a rally racer and my race management is getting better and better. I’m always learning, and we’ll keep working hard for the next races.”
Marc Bourgeois
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team – Team Manager
“I’m very happy with what we’ve achieved as a team at the Africa Eco Race. It was a fight for the overall win from the beginning and we won many of the stages. It’s clear from our results that our bike is at a very high level. The team spirit is also really high and I’m proud of everyone involved in this project. We have all worked very hard. It’s a pity that we could not win the overall, but it was a close race and we’ll be back in the future.”
