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The green flag waves. You’re off, full gas, flying over log jumps. Easy enough, right? Next up: monster truck tires — six rows of them, at that. Should you emerge unscathed, the overturned excavator buckets and boulder piles ensure you won’t. If you pick your way through those obstacles, waist-high cement ledges, tire-strewn climbs, and a vertical wall ride still threaten to end your day.
This daredevil’s playground is the Prolog stage of the 2023 Red Bull Romaniacs. Its hair-raising obstacles teeter between ingenious and insane, regularly reducing the world’s best hard enduro riders to fumbling fools. Safely navigating this course of carnage on a 300 cc two-stroke (the preeminent weapon of choice) is a feat in itself. Utterly dominating the field aboard a 450-pound adventure bike is unheard of. Yet, former World Junior Trial Champion Pol Tarrés did just that on a Yamaha Ténéré 700.
That podium-topping performance is the Spanish rider’s latest conquest in a string of first-time achievements. Tarrés’ acrobatic antics haven’t just showcased the T7’s capabilities, though, they’ve also kickstarted a new marketing trend. Now, more than ever, rival OEMs are jumping on the bandwagon, entering adventure bikes in enduro races and rally raids.
The trendsetter
Tarrés and the Ténéré first captivated the motorcycling public when the short film “The Seeker Movie” went viral in 2020. Soon after, the trial champ proved his ADV mettle, becoming the first Bronze category rider to complete the Red Bull Romaniacs on an adventure model. Even more impressive, Tarrés finished 18th in a field of 166 riders.
Similar success followed at the 2022 Erzbergrodeo. Tarrés didn’t cross the finish line, but he was the first competitor to reach the 17th checkpoint on a twin-cylinder bike. It wasn’t long before Yamaha’s poster boy discovered the T7’s limitations, however.
Tarrés broke his shoulder at the 2022 Red Bull Romaniacs before a premature exit in the 16th checkpoint of the 2023 Erzbergrodeo. Despite the sophomore slump, the 29-year-old arrived at the 2023 Red Bull Romaniacs hungrier than ever.
Gunning for a top-three finish, Tarrés laid waste to his competition in the Prolog stage. A win on Day Two catapulted him up to third place. The Yamaha rider’s luck ran out on Day Three, unfortunately, as a high-speed crash sidelined him with a leg injury. An injury he may not have sustained on a proper enduro bike.
To some, Tarrés promoting the Ténéré 700 in hard enduros is tantamount to Toprak Razgatlıoğlu promoting the YZF-R1 in WSBK. There’s just one discrepancy. The R1 is the intended tool for that job. Team Blue isn’t asking Toprak to ride a Superbike in a supermoto race. Yamaha may push its bike — and rider — to the limit, but other manufacturers would rather bend the rules at the behest of the marketing brief.
Everyone’s doing it
In July 2022, Triumph enlisted five-time Enduro World Champion Iván Cervantes to pilot its Tiger 900 Rally Pro through the Baja España Aragón rally. The British brand wasn’t alone, either. Harley-Davidson also entered its Pan America 1250 in the race with experienced Dakar Rally rider Joan Pedrero at the helm.
Dedicated 450 cc rally machines remained at the top of the standings, but Cervantes and Pedrero managed to finish the grueling course, winning the inaugural Trail and Max-Trail classes, respectively. Those fabricated categories still allowed both firms to claim victory at the 38th annual event.
The Motor Company remained content with its participation trophy. On the other hand, Triumph parlayed its success into the Tiger 900 Aragón Edition line. The Rally Pro variant was a shoo-in for the limited-run series, but its road-biased sibling, the Tiger 900 GT, inexplicably joined the collection, as well.
Most recently, Ducati got in on the action at the 2023 Erzbergrodeo. In the saddle of the DesertX, five-time Enduro World Champion Antoine Méo seized fourth overall in the Mitas Rocket Ride and stood atop the Iron Road Prolog podium.
Shortly after, an official press release claimed that the ADV model “demonstrated its sporting characteristics on one of the most demanding courses in the world.” What the statement fails to acknowledge is that the Prolog’s fire road-heavy route suits the DesertX’s horsepower advantage. The Bologna brand also ignores the fact that the team forfeited its opportunity to compete in the main event, despite Méo qualifying on the front row.
Still, it’s hard to fault Ducati for pulling the ADV from the hard enduro race. After all, images of the DesertX in a hillside pile-up or struggling to crawl over the boulders isn’t very marketing-friendly.
The new normal?
One thing is clear, adventure bikes aren’t going anywhere. That goes for the showrooms and races. Not all brands are willing to stack the deck in the quest for rally-adjacency, though. Aprilia and aftermarket specialist GCorse are currently fielding a rally-spec Tuareg 660 in the Italian Motorally Championship. The Italian marque doesn’t rely on tailor-made classes, nor does it quit while it’s ahead.
As of the time of writing this article, an Aprilia narrowly leads the series’ multi-cylinder, 600 cc+ G-1000 class. Out of the 16 bikes vying for the category championship, 10 are Yamahas, three are KTMs, and one is a Ducati. If the Tuareg 660 Rally prototype manages to top the standings by season’s end, it will have earned the praise Aprilia undoubtedly heaps upon it.
Rally-going ADVs seem like they’re here to stay. But, only the sales figures will determine whether these “stunty” marketing ploys truly reach the intended audience.
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