DIRT NEWS
Enduro . But all being well , I hope to be back racing for the second half of the season . Huge thanks to the team who patched me up , and of course the fans for their support and messages .” If it sounds to you like Bolt is a hard man ( or mildly nuts ), you ’ re not the only one , even Bolt ’ s Husqvarna Factory Racing Enduro Team Manager , Fabio Farioli , has been impressed with his drive this season . “ It was impressive how Billy managed to still come out on top this SuperEnduro season , even with an injury ”, he said . “ Billy has been really motivated and focused on getting this title , and I don ’ t know how he managed to push through and ride in the condition his knee was in . His health has to come first though so that he can be feeling 100 % for the next races , so we decided to stop now and have the surgery . I have no doubt that Billy will come back even stronger and faster than before .”
POL TARRÉS GETS HIGH ( ER )
Two years after making history and setting an altitude world record aboard a Yamaha Ténéré 700 , Pol Tarrés returned to Chile at the start of March and set the bar even higher , not just by smashing his own twin-cylinder record , but also by setting a new altitude record for a single-cylinder motorcycle . Reaching an incredible height of 6677 metres with the Ténéré World Raid GYTR in full Stage 3 setup , Tarrés set a new record for the highest altitude achieved on a twin-cylinder motorcycle . But that ’ s not all , as during the reconnaissance phase of the attempt , Tarrés also set a new record for the highest altitude ever reached on a single-cylinder motorcycle , ascending to 6,756 metres on the cross-country spec Yamaha YZ450FX .
Being a Yamaha Ténéré ambassador ( and bit of a wild man ), Tarrés was determined to achieve a new record on the 700 World Raid . Both records were registered on a dual GPS and verified by three guides as the guidelines prescribe . Official ratification of the two world records will take several weeks . The expedition team comprised Pol Tarrés , Javi Echevarria ( project manager ), Miguel Echevarria ( film crew ), Ahikar Azcona ( Yamaha ambassador & team support ), Joan Espasa ( film crew ) and mountain guides , Gerardo Bauty , Cristian Órdenes , Thomas Caballero , and Juan León . Supported by Yamaha Motor Europe , Marc Bourgeois and Yamaha Motor Chile . “ Preparing for this challenge was difficult , many said it could not be done ,” declared
KIWI RIDER 19