The Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team, in partnership with Riders for Health (powered by Two Wheels for Life), enjoyed a strong start to the 2026 Carta Rallye in Morocco, with Alessandro Botturi securing an overall podium in third, Kevin Gallas in fourth, and Gautier Paulin in fifth, with the trio also completing a lockout of the top three in the Over 450cc class.
The opening stage of the 10th edition of the Carta Rallye started in Agadir. It consisted of two timed specials, 90 km and 100 km long, respectively, with a 180 km transfer between them and 61 km of liaisons. The second half of the stage was delayed for several hours for safety reasons, leaving the riders stuck waiting in the desert heat, but they eventually started the stage and made it to the bivouac at Tan Tan Plage.
Experienced Italian Botturi started from second, and the 50-year-old managed to secure the overall podium despite some issues with the electronic roadbook that appeared to affect most riders, while also taking victory in the Over 450cc class. Finishing in two hours, 41 minutes and 38 seconds, he secured the third fastest time on his Ténéré 700 Rally, and is in the perfect position to attack on Stage 2 as he sits just four minutes and 32 seconds off the lead.
Gallas also impressed, making his debut as an official rider for the team. A small technical issue meant the German rider had to stop and make some quick repairs to his bike, and, like most riders, he also had issues with the electronic roadbook tablet, which was displaying the wrong number of kilometres to the next waypoint. Even so, he recovered superbly to finish the stage fourth overall and second in class, just four minutes and 36 seconds behind Botturi.
Former MXGP rider Paulin, in only his third rally raid, also showed good pace. Despite experiencing some issues with the roadbook and a small crash that cost him 30 seconds, he fought back to finish the stage in fifth with a time of two hours, 51 minutes and 30 seconds, despite receiving a seven-minute penalty for speeding in his effort to make up for the lost time.
Stage 2 sees the bivouac move from Tan Tan Plage to Laâyoune, with a total of 265 km of special and 53 km of liaison.
Carta Rallye Stage 1 Results
Alessandro Botturi – P3 – 2h41m38s
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“It was a good stage today. I started second and, despite some issues with the electronic roadbook, I was really happy. It felt great to be back on the Ténéré, and to secure third behind two 450cc prototypes is a solid start. There is a long way to go, but all three of us are in a good position so that we can build from here.”
Kevin Gallas – P4 – 2h46m14s
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“We started this morning, and it was a completely different kind of rally compared to the Africa Eco Race. We use a tablet here, and the notes are much more complex, with a lot more images and information, so it was really tricky. I had a small technical issue at the beginning that forced me to stop and fix something, and then we also had problems with the tablet not showing the correct kilometres to the next waypoint, so I had to keep adjusting it. That made it difficult to find a rhythm. After the long delay in the heat, the second part of the stage was tough, with rocks, technical dunes and broken sections after the rain, so I never really found the feeling I wanted. But overall, it was an okay day. I did not take any risks, my navigation was good, I made no mistakes, and now I am looking forward to tomorrow and building again.”
Gautier Paulin – P5 – 2h51m30s
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“Everything went well, and we had a lot of fun. The track was decent, with a super nice view of the seaside, but we had a lot of problems with the electronic tablet, which made the riding really hard. I was trying to fix something on it and wasn’t watching the track properly, so I had a small slide, and then I had a small crash that cost me around 30 seconds. It was still a decent stage, and hopefully tomorrow everything is fixed so we can enjoy it more and ride with more freedom.”
Marc Bourgeois
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team – Team Manager
“Yesterday was a good first stage, a good warm-up for our official riders. The specific feature of this rally is the electronic tablet, so there was a lot for us to understand. It was the first day for the riders, staff, and mechanics to adapt to this system, and, from a sporting point of view, it was good. There were some small mistakes, but nothing major. I am happy with Kevin. Even if the feeling wasn’t perfect, the result was good, and it is nice to be close to the top riders. Gautier also started step by step, and Alessandro felt okay and will improve day by day. So yes, it was a good day.”
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