The Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team, in partnership with Riders for Health (powered by Two Wheels for Life), completed a superb 2026 Carta Rallye in Morocco by securing an overall double podium, with Kevin Gallas finishing second and Gautier Paulin third, while Alessandro Botturi secured fifth. The result also saw the team complete a lockout of the top three in the Over 450cc class, highlighting the strength and consistency of the Ténéré 700 Rally across the seven-stage event.
The final Stage 7 in M’Hamid featured 107 km of special and 14 km of liaison, for a total of 121 km. After a demanding week in the desert, the short final stage brought the 2026 Carta Rallye to a close, with Paulin finishing fourth, Botturi fifth, and Gallas sixth.
Across the rally, the Ténéré 700 Rally went head-to-head with the factory Dakar 450cc single-cylinder machines and delivered an exceptional performance, claiming three stage wins and seven overall stage podiums. For a production-based twin-cylinder adventure bike to take on purpose-built rally machinery so consistently across seven demanding stages was a major achievement and underlined the capability and potential of the Ténéré 700 Rally.
Gallas delivered a standout performance to secure second overall in just his fourth rally raid. Building on his victory at the Africa Eco Race earlier in the season, the German showed pace and consistency throughout the week, taking the win on Stage 3 and adding further podiums on Stages 4 and 5 before bringing the rally home in second overall with a final time of 25h55m47s, 29m13s from the overall win.
Paulin was also hugely impressive, ending the rally third overall with a final time of 25h56m59s, just 1m12s behind Gallas. Like his teammate, it was also only the Frenchman’s fourth rally raid, yet he claimed two stage wins and another podium on Stage 6, underlining both his speed and how quickly he adapted to the demands of the event. Despite a penalty during the rally, he remained firmly in contention and closed it out with a deserved place on the overall podium.
Botturi completed another strong and intelligent rally to finish fifth overall with a total time of 26h24m14s. The experienced Italian was hit by penalties earlier in the event but kept fighting, combining competitive pace with important development work on the Ténéré 700 Rally in demanding rally raid conditions. His contribution also helped ensure the team locked out the top three places in the Over 450cc class overall, after dominating the event and sweeping the category podium on every single stage of the rally.
Carta Rallye General Classification Final
Kevin Gallas – P2 – 25h55m47s
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“Today, on the last stage, it was really short, technical, not so nice to ride, and really physical. I took it fairly chilled from the beginning. I had nine minutes on Gautier and absolutely no chance of winning, so I just managed it to the finish and did enough. I lost a little bit more time than I would have liked, but I am really happy. The team did really well all week. I feel like we improved again from the Africa Eco Race. We gave the Dakar 450cc bikes a hard time on some stages and won three stages on a twin-cylinder adventure bike against them, which I am really proud of. It is another really good step for the season, and I am very happy with my week and with the performance.”
Gautier Paulin – P3 – 25h56m59s
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“It has been a great rally. We improved a lot with the bike and confirmed the durability work we have been doing, so I am very proud of the whole crew and of myself as well. I improved a lot with the roadbook and understanding where I was in these huge open spaces facing the horizon. Even with the penalty, I learned a lot. I am still a rookie in this class, so to improve this much every time is really cool. Overall, it has been a very positive experience.”
Alessandro Botturi – P5 – 26h24m14s
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team
“It was a very demanding rally over seven tough days. I stayed calm, managed my rhythm, and focused on bringing it home. In the end, I am happy with the result and with the work we have done throughout the event. We are now at a very high level. Thank you to the whole team and all the mechanics for their hard work.”
Marc Bourgeois
Ténéré Yamaha Rally Team – Team Manager
“I am very happy with the result. It was not easy, especially with the navigation, the different kinds of terrain, and the demands on both the riders and the bike. What we achieved is a strong result that shows the performance of our Ténéré and the work we have done in development to improve the bike. It was a great event for our training, for improving the riders’ skills, and for collecting important information on the bike. We need to keep going with our action plan for this year, but I am very happy with this race.”
