Pol Tarrés has retained the lead in the 2024 Morocco Desert Challenge with victory for the Yamaha Ténéré Rally team in a gruelling second stage.
Featuring the longest special of the rally, the second stage saw riders progress from Plage Blanche to Tadachacht/Assa with a timed challenge of 363km. The special began with a flat out 25km along the beach, with Pol Tarrés leading the way in Morocco after his stage one win.
Following the blast along the beach, the route heads into the canyon with 18km with dunes one side and mountain cliffs on the other. A navigational challenge with a variety of terrains, including stones, sandy tracks and stunning views – Stage 2 is the first of the many challenging stages the Morocco Desert Challenge is renowned for.
Starting with a ten-minute advantage after winning the opening stage, Tarrés wasn’t fazed by the challenge of having no tracks to follow as he made his way to the stage finish almost 20 minutes quicker than his nearest competitor. This means the former hard enduro ace’s lead now stands at an impressive 36’52” minutes after the first two stages.
Monday’s timed special presents another significant challenge for both Tarres and the Ténéré World Rally (fitted with three stage GYTR kit) with 361km of riding between Tadachacht/Assa and Tissint.
“Today was a good day, the beginning of the stage and the refuelling was difficult for me as it was super tight and rocky and I could not push too much! But after the refuelling we were fast and there was a lot of navigation. I was feeling good and pushed a lot and we won the stage. I am still learning, but we took some important confidence about navigation skills today. The bike is working super good, the new GYTR packs are performing really well so we will keep pushing tomorrow!”
Marc Bourgeois
“Today was a new day, a long day with a lot of different kind of terrains. Pol opened the stage again today and pushed very hard, it is not easy to open as it presents a lot of navigational challenges. I am very proud of him for his result as you need to be so focused to get the confidence. The bike was good, working very well and we have got some good feedback from Pol. We now have quite a good gap to our nearest competitor, so we can continue to push but also know that we have that gap. It is nice to be performing so well against the prototype 450cc machines, which is great for us pushing a new way with the Adventure class and shows the work we have done over the last 12 months. The finish is a long way away and tomorrow will be another day, so we will take it step by step and keep pushing for victory