Pol Tarres and the Tenere 700 have made history in the sands of Africa as he claimed a stunning victory at the 2024 Morocco Desert Challenge against rivals on specialized 450cc Rally machines. Winning six stages, including the final timed special, the Spaniard became the first rider to ever win the rally on a twin-cylinder adventure motorcycle. 

After an extremely tough 2023 edition that tragically took the life of two participants, this year’s grueling 8-stage Morocco Desert Challenge race covered even more terrain. The 3,000 km route was described by organizers as the ‘full monty,’ connecting the Mediterranean sea and Atlantic ocean through some of the toughest terrain on the planet. 

For Pol, this is his first-ever desert rally victory. The Andorran had led the rally right from the start, attacking as hard as he could, even though he had the disadvantage of leading most of the stages. Incredibly, he won the first four timed specials in style, opening up a significant lead in the overall standings, before sandstorms on the fifth stage saw a more mature side emerge from Tarrés as he patiently waited for the worst to pass before finishing the day in second.

The most challenging day coming into the final stage for Pol was the sixth stage, as he had to enter damage limitation mode due to a couple of errors in the roadbook with two missing waypoints. Yet, amazingly, he still managed to finish the special in fourth. The former hard enduro rider bounced back with another victory on the penultimate special before powering to his sixth stage win on Saturday to crown a sublime display.

Tarres has only been competing in Rally Raid since 2022, making his achievements in Morocco even more impressive, especially as he was riding without his usual teammate Alessandro Botturi due to a schedule clash for the experienced Italian, as he instead focused on fighting for the title in the 2024 Italian Motorally Championship.

A podium finisher in the 2023 edition of the Morocco Desert Challenge, coming into the 118 km final stage, Tarrés had a lead in the general classification of over two hours and twenty minutes. Knowing this, Pol just had to bring it home to seal his first rally victory in Africa, adding to his win at the 2023 TransAnatolia and his third-place finish at the Africa Eco Race in January.

Instead of taking it easy, especially as the stage was a real challenge for the riders’ navigational skills, he attacked on his Ténéré 700 World Rally with the three-stage GYTR Kits fitted to win the special in one hour, ten minutes, and five seconds.

“It has been tough physically and mentally, with 8 challenging stages featuring lots of difficult navigation,” says Pol. “What made it even harder was that I was opening every day, and each stage had varied layouts, including everything from fast trails, broken rocky tracks, and of course the infamous Moroccan dunes.”

Pol’s commanding performance meant he took the overall victory by an astounding margin of two hours, 21 minutes, and six seconds, a feat made all the more remarkable due to the fact he was competing against lighter single-cylinder 450cc prototype machines.

Racing alongside Pol as a part of the Ténéré Spirit Experience was Stephane Poulet. The French rider made it a Yamaha one-two in the M1.2 class (601cc and above) and claimed a best stage finish of 12th overall, ending the rally in a respectable 17th in the general classification.

Next up for Tarrés and the Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team is the Hellas Rally in Greece from the 27th of May to the 2nd of June.

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