teams for 2024 , which battled on a daily basis to take both class and outright honours . The Tenere Yamaha Rally Team included riders Allesandro Botturi , Pol Tarres and Nicolas Charlier , while the Aprilia Racing Team fielded Jacopo Cerutti and Francesco Montanari . It was close , but Aprilia ’ s Cerutti took the win , setting the stage for a head-to-head battle between the Aprilia and Yamaha teams for desert honours in 2025 .
TWO HORSE RACE : CERUTTI VS BOTTURI The story of the 2025 race was one of two countrymen . Last year ’ s winner Cerruti and twice previous winner Botturi battled from the very start and were separated by little throughout . The two Italians were so closely tied that luck was a big factor for each rider . Both riders had navigational errors on Stage 5 . Cerruti ’ s rear tyre mousse disintegrated , leaving him to finish Stage 6 riding on the rim . Botturi lost time in the dunes on Stage 7 just before it was neutralised after a serious accident . On Stage 8 Cerutti suffered from a
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