The Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team’s Pol Tarrés is full of confidence and aiming to battle for victory at the 2024 Morocco Desert Challenge, a rally raid that covers over 3000km across eight stages from Agadir to Saïdia from the 13th-20th of April.
The ninth edition of the Morocco Desert Challenge (MDC) will see competitors race from coast to coast across some of the most demanding terrain on the planet, with the rally starting by the Atlantic Ocean in the south-west of the country and finishing on the north-eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Tarrés, incredibly still in only his third year competing in rally raids, is looking to build on his third-place overall finish in the 2023 edition of the race that saw him show incredible consistency to secure podiums on five of the six stages. The 30-year-old has taken the rally world by storm since switching from racing hard enduro in 2022, creating history by becoming the first person on a twin-cylinder adventure bike to win the TransAnatolia rally in 2023 and then backing that up with third overall at the Africa Eco Race in January, where he also claimed three stage victories.
Tarrés will be racing on the Ténéré 700 World Rally GYTR, a standard production Ténéré 700 World Rally with the three-stage GYTR kits, Performance, Handling, and Rally, fitted to the machine.
To ensure that he is as fully prepared as he can be for the MDC, the team held a productive test in the days leading up to the rally to allow them to find the perfect setup with the bike, and the Andorran was delighted with the work done.
Once again, Tarrés will not only be battling against other twin-cylinder adventure bikes in the M1.2 class (601cc and above) but also the 450cc single-cylinder prototypes in the M1.1 class (600cc and below) as well. However, he will be racing without his teammate Alessandro Botturi. The experienced Italian took part in the team’s test but will not participate in the race due to a scheduling conflict as he instead focuses on fighting for the title in the Italian Motorally Championship.
Alongside Tarrés, six riders will also take part in the Ténéré Spirit Experience (TSE), a unique program created to give people the opportunity to live and breathe the rally lifestyle alongside the Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team. One of the TSE riders, Stéphane Poulet, will take part in the full race, while the rest will feature in the Raid category, which runs parallel to the main rally but on less challenging routes and without the pressure of racing against the clock.
The MDC kicks off with two days of technical checks and scrutineering in Agadir from the 11th of April before the race begins on the 13th. The first stage features a 32km liaison from Agadir to the beach for an 85km high-speed Prologue before a 182km liaison to the bivouac at Page Blanche.
Pol Tarrés
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“We spent a week preparing in Morocco and had Alessandro here to help us test and tweak a few settings on the bike, and it has been really positive. We have found a perfect setup with the Ténéré 700 World Rally GYTR. The team has worked hard to put us in the best position for this race, and I have a really good feeling with the bike, which is so important in rallies. I am excited to see how we can do in the race with the new settings we have. I will miss Alessandro, of course, because he is my teammate and racing in a rally is very different when you have to compete on your own, but it will be a great experience for me. We will take it stage by stage, give it our all, and hopefully be in the fight for victory.”
Marc Bourgeois
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team – Team Manager
“We are ready for the Morocco Desert Challenge. We have enjoyed a few days here to test and prepare in the best possible way and to build confidence. Pol has grown as a rider in every rally, and he keeps just getting better and better. He finished third here last year, and after his podium at the Africa Eco Race, he feels good coming into this rally. Experience is vital in events like these, and yet, despite this being only his third year competing in rallies, he has learnt in every race and constantly impresses us with his attitude and skill. We are also delighted to welcome six customers who will be joining the team as a part of the Ténéré Spirit Experience and will get to experience the thrills and adventure of a rally raid alongside Pol. “
