Pol Tarres Sets Two New Altitude Records With Yamaha

On March 14, 2020, Pol Tarres set a Guinness World Record for two-cylinder adventure motorcycles by reaching an altitude of 20,202 feet (6,157 m) in the hills of Cerro Mercedario, in the Andes. Now, he has added two more altitude records, both on two subsequent days. Yes, two records! On March 6, 2024, Pol Tarres rode a Yamaha YZ450FX to 22,165 feet (6,756 m), while climbing the world’s highest active volcano, Ojos Del Salado, in Chile setting a new altitude Guinness Record on board a wheeled machine. 

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Tarres descended the volcano and prepared to climb it again the next day. This time he used the Yamaha Tenere 700 World Raid and on March 7, 2024, he reached an altitude of 21,909 feet (6678 m), beating his own adventure motorcycle record from 2020. The latest feat is incredible, in more ways than one. In 2020, Tarres used an oxygen tank which he carried in his backpack, but this time around, he didn’t even use an oxygen tank.

“Above 6,000 metres, everything seems to go super slow, the physical exhaustion is indescribable and there is no room for mistakes,” said Pol Tarres. “Even walking is a challenge, let alone riding a Tenere at this altitude.”

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Pol Tarres with members of the TRECE Racing team.

The expedition team comprised Pol Tarres, Javi Echevarria (project manager), Miguel Echevarria (film crew), Ahikar Azcona (Yamaha ambassador and team support), Joan Espasa (film crew) and mountain guides Gerardo Bauty, Cristian Órdenes, Thomas Caballero, and Juan León. The feat was also supported by Yamaha Motor Europe, Marc Bourgeois and Yamaha Motor Chile.

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Tarres and the TRECE Racing Society Team took two weeks to acclimatise in the Andes Mountain range. High altitude sickness was a constant companion for the team during the acclimatisation process. After acclimatising, Tarres and the TRECE team started exploring potential routes to conquer the mountain, utilizing both the YZ450FX and the Tenere 700 to complete the reconnaissance phase, at the same time dealing with disruption caused by unexpected snowfall.