We went to Greece to take part in a Yamaha event, the Ténéré Spirit Experience, which consisted of riding one of the biggest and most spectacular rallies in Europe, the Hellas Rally Raid, but in a very special and privileged way.
Yamaha created an event inside one of the world’s leading rallies and made the experience as memorable and enjoyable as possible. The brand has given customers the opportunity to feel exactly what a professional rider feels. And I can assure you, it’s an unforgettable ride! I was invited by Yamaha and had exactly the same experience as a customer would. The aim of this article is to tell you exactly what happened (as well as what I felt), and how the whole experience works for anyone who wants to be part of it in the future.
TENERE SPIRIT
The 2023 edition featured three categories. In the premier category, Rally 1, there were 251 bikes, which included both experienced/professional riders and most of the amateurs. The Rally 2 category had 34 entries and was distinguished only by having fewer kilometers than the main category. The Raid category was where the Yamaha event took place, with 9 Ténéré World Raid bikes. This category has the particularity of having GPS navigation and the route is slightly shorter than in the Rally 2 category and is not timed.
The Rally took place between May 20th and 28th and there were seven stages, one of which was the prologue. We covered between 100 and 200 km each day, 90% of which was off-road. The stages always started and finished in the same place, Karpenisi to be precise, thus facilitating both logistics and accommodation.
To begin with, it’s a Rally Raid, so anyone who sets out to do it isn’t just going for a walk in the woods. We spent 6/7/8 hour days navigating… But that’s precisely the challenge. Yamaha itself had no idea how demanding the route could be, especially as the Ténéré is much taller and heavier than the 450 cc that was the main engine capacity.
THE EXPERIENCE
The sensations start as soon as you arrive at the Bivuac. Seeing the entire support structure for a rally of this size is thrilling in itself. Many brands are present with their trucks and support tents, and the racing atmosphere is felt everywhere! Above all, everyone breathes the same passion and that’s spectacular for anyone who loves motorcycles and off-road events.
Yamaha had one of the largest structures present, with several support trucks and vans, as well as several tents, all very professional and organized just like at the Dakar, for example. In fact, the person in charge of the event, Marc Bourgeois, was the team manager for the last Dakar and was also our team manager. It gave us great peace of mind to know that we had a support van with all the spare parts and mechanics ready to help us anywhere at any time during the race.
But to continue with the description of the structure: Imagine a long tent 4 meters wide and 30 meters long with several compartments. That’s it! Right at the beginning is the space for the official riders’ bikes, then another space with capacity for up to 12 bikes for clients and guests, and on the sides two rooms for meetings and another for catering and clothing. Every detail counts. For example, on arrival, a certain nervousness was normal, which led to a quick disarray of this area because we all had a lot of material (clothes, protection, etc.) On the very first day, the team’s main assistant Chloe Minaux labeled all our material with each person’s first name, so that there would be no doubt in the event of the material being mixed up. In this case, there was a bit of a deluge and the team had to organize everyone’s clothes. This was one detail (among many others) that immediately dictated the experience and professionalism of this team, since when we arrived we had all our clothes and spare equipment properly arranged and organized.
On a few occasions we even stopped to take unique photos. After all, our “race” wasn’t against the clock.
Then they allocated one mechanic for every two riders. But these were no ordinary mechanics. All of them had many years of experience in races and several Dakars! Not only was there a good atmosphere, but there were also competitions between them to see how well and efficiently they could do any kind of job (including completely dismantling engines). Personally, on the first day I just asked them to remove the footpegs and raise the gear selector and rear brake, because as I was riding in motocross boots, they were too low in the factory position.
THE RALLY
The level of demand was unknown until the first day. The prologue was only 30 kilometers long, but Mother Nature gave us a lot of rain, which meant that the areas marked and expected to be very dusty turned into areas of a lot of mud and very long gullies. So the first day was a good introduction to the challenge ahead of us and also served as our first contact with these bikes in a new environment.
Big cliffs but above all very varied and winding routes throughout.
The Karpenisi area is full of trails and rivers, which made navigation easier than in the desert. On the other hand, the challenge was to figure out whether the bend closed at the end or not and whether there were any dangers such as fallen logs or unexpected turtles… Yes, you read that right, this part of Greece is full of land tortoises, some of them quite large. And this was one of the many surprises we had. Another feature that struck me was the variety of terrain we navigated throughout each day, from dense forest to wide mountaintop trails. We rarely had places where we rolled fast in 5th gear, more often in 2nd and 3rd, which you can tell from the amount of corners we took. So the 150 km we averaged per day was done in 6/7 hours of delightful curves.
The atmosphere was always impeccable and everyone helped each other.
This is an experience for those who want, for example, to have their first contact with a rally without the pressure of qualifying. Of course, anyone who sets out on a challenge like this has to have a certain spirit of sacrifice and we arrived at the end of each day quite tired, but with a big smile on our faces. The point is that anyone who likes racing and rallying likes to accelerate. But although this particular event was for an intermediate level, one of Yamaha’s main concerns is that in the future it should be an event for all levels.
Another highlight was sharing the whole experience with Pol Tarrés, because we spent a week together, we laughed together, we also suffered a bit together, but above all we rolled for many kilometers and hours and shared experiences of driving and rallying.
All the participants were treated like real racers, and all you had to do was ask for something to be done on the Ténéré.
In short, this is an opportunity for those who enjoy riding motorcycles and want a challenge, but without the pressure of the stopwatch, but the most pleasurable thing is that we have all the perks that a professional rider has. The most interesting thing about this adventure is feeling exactly what a rider feels and having a complete experience of what a rally of this size and structure is like. I thought that, because the Ténéré World Raid is a bigger and heavier bike than a 450 cc, I would be more tired at the end, but that didn’t happen. After so many hours on the bike, I’ve learned that when things go well, everything is wonderful (and I’d even go so far as to say that it’s more enjoyable than a 450), but when things need to be corrected, then I spend more energy. And I’ll end with these words: This was an event I won’t forget.
The family photo from this year’s edition.
PARTICIPATION FEE: €5,100
INCLUDED:
Transportation and logistics during the event
Registration and administrative formalities
Mechanical assistance
Accommodation and catering
Management of all the race and formalities
NOT INCLUDED
Motorcycle transportation
Motorcycle rental
Suspension and shock absorber rental
