It’s tough to keep count of the mind-bending things trials champ Pol Tarres does with his Yamaha Tenere 700s. There have been gravity-defying stunts, altitude records, a film series, and just last April he became the first to win the Morocco Rally on a twin-cylinder adventure bike. But it’s his latest feat, becoming the first rider in history to finish in the punishing Silver class of Romaniacs on an adventure bike, an event dominated by lightweight 250 or 300cc single-cylinder 2-strokes, that he says tops them all. 

In a quick look back, this is Pol’s fourth stab at Romaniacs. In 2021 he made history when he became the first rider to finish in the Bronze class on a twin-cylinder bike. He returned for the next two Romaniacs on a quest to win Bronze, but nasty crashes saw him sidelined. This year he said forget the Bronze and went for Silver, an incredibly challenging four-day course, famous for extreme climbs and descents, almost as technically difficult as the ones for the insane Gold class. 

“This was the craziest and most challenging thing I’ve ever done,” says Pol of his run in the Silver category. “It was tougher than Erzbergrodeo, the altitude record or anything else I’ve tried.” 

If you follow Pol, that’s saying a lot, but then again, the Romaniacs, founded by world snowboarding champ and motorcycle nut, Martin Freinademetz in 2004, has evolved to be known as the world’s toughest hard enduro rally. In fact, the event is so difficult, most of the riders who attempt to take it on fail to finish. There are five classes: Gold, Silver, Bronze,Iron, and Atom, with the Gold class being for elite riders on enduros. “There are probably only 50 riders worldwide who can finish this class,” according to Freinademetz.  

In fact, it was Freinademetz who dared Pol to enter the much-tougher Silver category this year, and like a red flag to a bull, the Spaniard couldn’t resist, though he says his run was so intense he wasn’t sure he’d make it. 

“I was super exhausted and sometimes even doubted whether I could keep racing for four days in a row at this level,” he says, going on to credit his own inner strength for motivation. “I had a strong fight within myself every day, but I managed to pass my limits and that kept me motivated.”

Out of 113 riders competing in this Silver class, Pol, who actually led through some of the hardest sections, eventually placed in 60th, a result he’s more than happy with. The race didn’t come without its challenges, however. The 30-year-old was forced to relinquish several positions while he fixed his radiator after colliding with a piece of wood, which briefly halted his charge. Fixing it himself, he soldiered on and finished the race by topping the infamous Gusterita Hill Climb in front of a sea of cheering spectators.

Pol’s race bike was “more or less” unchanged from last season, save for the addition of new triple clamps to shorten the rider triangle, which Team Trece says aided Pol in the extreme technical sections. Carried over modifications include a full Akrapovič exhaust and protection system from Outback Motortek, while the Spaniard’s suspension is tuned by Italian off-road specialist, Boano Moto.

German Kevin Gallas Wins Bronze On T7

Pol Tarres wasn’t the only warrior riding a T7 in Romaniacs this year, his good friend, German enduro rider Kevin Gallas entered the event for the second year with his Yamaha adventure bike. Last year Kevin finished in the Bronze class, riding with Pol’s Trece Racing Society team, and this year he made history winning the class on his T7.

“I met Pol in 2018, when we both competed in the SuperEnduro World Championship. He invited me to his house for some weeks of training and I just never left,” says Kevin. “Pol and his family are amazing people, and it’s my second home there.” 

Kevin has had his own T7 since 2022, though he uses that bike for adventure riding with friends. It was in 2023, just a few weeks before Romaniacs when Pol invited him to join team Trece for the event, that he rode a race-prepared T7.  “l learned a lot, especially what not to do in order to keep the bike and rider safe and managed to finish bronze class,” he says.

“After that I joined the Yamaha family and we created our own team for this year, and well, it went quite well!” Kevin’s T7 is equipped with Genuine Yamaha Technology Racing Parts’ Performance and Handling kits, available at dealers, which replace items like intake, exhaust, wheels and brakes with higher spec’d parts. He also swapped in Touratech suspension and added an Outback Motortek skid plate, s3 footpegs and a taller Touratech seat.

“I put some enduro mousses and tires on it and it is probably the best bike I have ever ridden,” he says, wishing to thank Lars at the Korbussen, Germany, Motorradtke dealership “for building me this amazing machine in just a few days!”

On the last day of the race, Kevin’s victory was temporarily in doubt when he suffered a big crash, but who to the rescue? Pol’s Trece Racing Society. “He had a big crash in a fast section, hitting very hard in the face close to his eye, and was knocked out for a bit,” says Trece’s Javi Echevarría. But Kevin shook it off while Pol’s team jumped in to help fix a shift lever, front fender and rear brake and get Kevin back in the race within 20 minutes.

“I’m very happy for Kevin,” says Pol about his friend’s victory. “He gave more than 100% and that’s what matters in a race like this.”

More Teneres Take On The Challenge

There were two more Teneres at the Romaniacs this year, both entered in the less difficult, yet extreme, Iron class. When Polish enduro rider Dawid Szczotka was asked why he moved from racing in the event’s most difficult Gold class on a 300 last year to racing Iron on a Tenere 700 he said without hesitation, “I wanted to have more fun.” 

Dawid snatched fifth place in the Iron class and American rider Andy Janik, who was also running in Iron aboard a T7, didn’t finish the grueling course. Both were rooting for Pol and Kevin, even speculating before the race whether a Tenere could go the distance in the super challenging Silver class, joking it would need ropes for the massive climbs and descents.

One of the most hair-raising of the event’s challenges is the massive final hill climb, known as the Gusterita, a challenge Pol Tarres says was a dream to overcome. 

 “The audience really gave me that extra energy,” says Pol, who was unable to stop smiling after he crossed the finish line. Yet for both Pol and Kevin, their respect for the Tenere goes far beyond competitive events.

“I absolutely love to use the T7 for personal riding,” says Kevin, who uses his Yamaha for casual rides as well as big adventures, like touring Morocco with friends. “It’s the best bike available at the moment in my eyes, it never fails on you, sounds amazing, is super comfortable and it can win Romaniacs!”

Photos by Javi Echevarria and Sandro Schmid.

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.