Pol Tarrés, a Yamaha factory rider, posted on Instagram Wednesday that he rode to the principal crater of Ojos Del Salado, a dormant complex volcano in the Andes on the Argentina–Chile border. His GPS tags his location at 22,165 feet, besting the world record of 22,093 feet.
Romain Dumas, a French professional racing driver, holds the current wheeled vehicle altitude record. In December last year, he ascended the same Chilean volcano in a Porsche 911 with no engine modifications. Tarrés’ claim also trounces the current Guinness World Record for the highest altitude achieved on a motorcycle, 21,476 feet.
Tarrés employed three mountain guides and stated that he acclimatized for 6 days before making his 3-hour ascent from 19,357 feet for the wheeled vehicle altitude record.
Although Tarrés mentions the Yamaha Ténéré 700 World Raid, the video in his post shows his ride of choice for the world record attempt: a Yamaha YZ450F motocross bike. This makes sense, as the lighter, more agile machine would be easier to navigate on the challenging terrain.
Congratulations to Tarrés and his team. His delight and joy for achieving this benchmark is palpable and contagious. I think I’ll start my bike right now. I do have a 50-foot elevation gain dirt driveway. Braaap!
