Yamaha Racing Yamalube’s Alessandro Botturi showed the incredible potential of the WR450F during the Merzouga Rally 2015 in southeastern Morocco not only by securing the stage win on day four, but also by taking the Rally crown with an advantage of 00:57s.
The Italian started the rally together with 74 pro quad and motorcycle contestants who all had to cover a total of 1269 km over sand, rocks and dust while they traveled across the Merzouga Desert.
Botturi did well to secure a solid fifth place over the first sandy stage in which he crossed three Ergs (mountains of sand): the Ergs Chebbi, Snaguy and Rissani. He followed up his strong opening stage by climbing up to a very competitive fourth place the next day as the riders travelled from the legendary Dakar track over rocky surface to the Boudnib plateau. Though Botturi suffered a small crash he was able to quickly resume the race.
The third stage, also known as ‘the marathon stage’, was focused on navigation and proved to be the most challenging stage of them all, both in general and for the Yamaha rider, who finished fifth. Several riders were forced to retire from the 153 km stage that took the riders across the Ergs Chebbi and Snaguy over a liaison of over 200 km and had them park their machines at the bivouac in the parc fermé without the support of their team.
The hardship only seemed to spur the Italian on the next day. At the fourth stage he showed his determination and rode his Yamaha to a superb stage win during the second part of the marathon stage at the sandy plateaus in the Dayat Maider, a desert area that separates the regions of Merzouga and Zagora, with a 01:49 margin. This result saw him take second place in the standings and reduced the gap to the standings leader to less than two minutes.
With a clear plan in mind, Botturi started the final day with renewed hope that he could take the Merzouga Rally and rode a sublime last stage that consisted of two laps around the 45-km ring in the famous Erg Chebbi to take sixth position. He made up almost three minutes in this ultimate stage and claimed the title with less than a minute advantage.
The Yamaha Racing Yamalube team was elated to see the consistent progress they are booking with their WR450F as they prepare for the Dakar 2016 and the Italian wasn’t the only rider in blue who rode his bike into the spotlight. Young and talented fellow Yamaha rider Adrien Van Beveren? made clear he is also a force to be reckoned with when he scored stage wins on the fifth day and took seventh place in the final standings, one place behind the young, yet a little more experienced, Xavier de Soultrait?.
Alessandro Botturi
“The race was tough with lots of navigation, and sand parts. All stages of the rally were very difficult, very hot and lots of dunes, making navigation vital, but there were also some stones. I tried to be as consistent as I could and finally it paid off! The bike was reliable and strong, even if there still needs some final details to be completely ready for our big rendezvous with the next Dakar. I really want to thank Yamaha and the whole team who did great efforts to grab this victory, the very first African rally one for me!”
Alexandre Kowalski Yamaha Racing Yamalube Team Director
“Coming back from Morocco this result is very encouraging. We proved that the riders are consistent and the bike is in a good shape and is developing in the right direction. We still need to work on some little things, but coming here after the Rallye du Maroc was very positive because we got some good information from the track and now we have some more ideas how to set up the bike for the next Dakar rally.”