The Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team, in partnership with Riders for Health (powered by Two Wheels for Life), enjoyed a strong opening day at the Addax Rally in Morocco. António Maio made a stunning start in his maiden rally raid onboard the Ténéré 700 Rally by taking the Stage 1 victory to lead the general classification, while Alessandro Botturi showed his pace by setting the fastest time on the first special before a penalty dropped him to fifth.
Day one of the Addax Rally saw competitors take on a 54.8 km Prologue, consisting mainly of dunes, before a 149 km opening stage. The special featured a mix of small dunes and rocky trails as riders headed towards Begaa and Erg Znagui, with challenging navigation that made speed and precision the order of the day, before returning to the bivouac in Merzouga.
It was Portuguese rider Maio, riding as a guest of the Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team on the official race bike, who ended the day on top of the general classification. The multi-time Portuguese Cross Country Champion and Dakar finisher impressed during his debut desert rally raid onboard the Ténéré 700 Rally, finishing the Prologue in third, before winning Stage 1 with a time of two hours, ten minutes, and 31 seconds to lead the general classification by two minutes and 56 seconds.
Italian Botturi demonstrated exceptional speed on Monday, but suffered from some bad luck. After finishing the Prologue in second, he managed to set the fastest time on Stage 1. Unfortunately, he was caught out by a tricky waypoint along with several riders and received a 15-minute penalty for missing it. This dropped Botturi down to fifth on the special, with a revised time of two hours, twenty-two minutes, and 31 seconds, which meant he ended the day in fourth overall, with an 11-minute and 40-second gap to Maio.
It was a good day for the Ténéré Spirit Experience (TSE) riders, with Mike Weidemann ending the first stage in second, Kevin Gallas in fourth, and Bertrand Gavand completing the top ten.
Day two of the Addax Rally features the longest stage of the event, covering 388.92 km of Moroccan desert, from the fast tracks of Taouz, to the dry oueds of Jdeid, and the endless sands of Ramlia, with a technical route meaning navigation will be key once again.
Addax Rally – Prologue Results
Addax Rally – Stage 1 Results
Addax Rally – Day 1 General Classification
António Maio
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“It was a very good day. I had an amazing feeling with the bike, especially considering it was the first time racing in the desert with it. It was really impressive. The navigation was tricky today, but I managed to make no mistakes, and I am delighted with the stage win. I hope to get quicker as the rally goes on, as I adapt to the bike, and I will push even harder for Stage 2.”
Alessandro Botturi – P4 – 3h 39m 13s
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“It was a good day of riding, but there was some challenging navigation. I felt great on the bike and was really quick, but then I received a penalty for missing a waypoint, and that was tough to take. So now we have to focus on making up the missing time, but there are still four stages to go, and anything can happen.”
Marc Bourgeois
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team – Team Manager
“Today was a very strong day for the team and the TSE riders. It was our first day back in proper rally raid action for a while, after lots of testing, and it was challenging, with a short Prologue made up entirely of dunes, a stage with some really tough navigation, and a waypoint that caught out a lot of riders. António did an amazing job and has gelled with the bike superbly already, while Botturi showed his pace but was very unlucky with the penalty. We also had all five of our Ténérés finish in the top ten, showcasing just how strong the bike is in these demanding conditions. We are already looking forward to the second day.”
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