The Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team’s Alessandro Botturi and Pol Tarrés, in partnership with Riders for Health (powered by Two Wheels for Life), finished the opening stage of the 2025 Africa Eco Race in second and third respectively, as they got off to an excellent start in Morocco.
The 16th edition of the Africa Eco Race (AER) kicked off with the traditional official starting ceremony held in Monaco on the 28th of December before the teams headed to Marseille for the boat ride to Tangier in Morocco. Arriving in the early morning of the 31st of December, it was straight down to action for Botturi and Tarrés as they set off on the opening 173.81 km liaison to the start of the special stage.
Although the opening timed stage was short—only 47.14 km—it proved incredibly tricky for the competitors; the route ran in parallel to the coast and consisted entirely of energy-sapping soft sand, which not only led to the stage being physically demanding but also made navigation extremely challenging.
Despite this, Botturi and Tarrés both enjoyed a strong start to the rally. They used the extra power of their Ténéré World Raid GYTR machines to dance through the sand and pull away from their rivals on 450cc single-cylinder bikes.
Double AER winner Botturi was immediately on the pace, successfully hunting down the rider ahead of him to finish in second, with a time of 39 minutes and 28 seconds, to put the experienced Italian in a strong position after the opening day, just 55 seconds off the pace of the stage winner, with the top three riders all on twin-cylinder adventure bikes.
His teammate Tarrés, who started further down the order, showed his speed once again. Despite losing some time after a minor navigation error, he recovered superbly. Overtaking several competitors, the Andorran secured third place after completing the special in 40 minutes and 17 seconds, just 48 seconds behind his teammate.
Having finished the timed section of the stage, the duo faced a gruelling 534.27km liaison to the bivouac in Tarda as they swapped the sun of Tangier for the snow and freezing temperatures of the Atlas Mountains.
After completing a mammoth 755.22 km on the opening day, the second stage is one of the shortest of the rally. It features a 19km liaison from the bivouac to the start of the 319 km special, which features a mix of rocky tracks, stones, and sand. Competitors will also take their first steps into the Sahara Desert as they encounter the first set of dunes before another 19km liaison to the bivouac in Tagounite as the rally heads deeper into southern Morocco.
Alessandro Botturi
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“Today was a good start to one of the toughest rallies in the world. While it was a short special stage, it was very tricky, with lots of soft sand, and the navigation was also challenging; plus, we had over 700 km of liaisons. We have a very long way to go to Dakar, but to start in this way is great, with no issues whatsoever. The real action begins in the second stage, with the first Saharan dunes, so tonight, we need to rest to ensure we are ready for the challenge. Pol did a great job, and the bike was perfect, so bring on Stage 2!”
Pol Tarrés
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“The first stage is always exciting. All of the talk stops, and finally, the action begins. Today was much tougher than it looked on paper, and many riders lost a lot of time, so I am happy with finishing in third. I made a small mistake with my navigation, but I did not lose much time, and I could make it up using the power of the Ténéré World Raid GYTR. Sometimes, having a bigger bike compared to the 450cc single-cylinder machines can be a disadvantage in such conditions, as it can dig into the soft sand, but the team did a great job setting it up perfectly, allowing me to push as hard as I could. Alessandro did a great job, too. We have such a long way to go, but we have started in the right way, and now we just need to keep giving it full gas.”
Marc Bourgeois
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“It was an important first day! There is always a lot of expectation at the start, and the stage was very tricky, with two long liaisons and some challenging navigation. It is always good to get to the finish of the first stage with no issues. We could not have asked for much more, with Alessandro and Pol finishing second and third. While it was a short stage, we have already seen some large gaps opening up in the general classification, so to be close to the rally leader is exactly what we wanted. There is a long way to go, but it was a strong start, and the real rally kicks off tomorrow!”
