Ténéré Tragics 2020
The annual gathering of Ténéré Tragics celebrated its tenth anniversary with a five day adventure ride in the picturesque Victorian countryside, welcoming the appearance of the all new Ténéré 700 adventure twin, with a host of celebrity riders joining the crew for the ‘2020 Gold Rush Run’ event.
The 2020 running of the Tenere Tragics featured 88 riders in total, 23 of whom were mounted on the new Tenere 700, covering 2250 km over five days, travelling from Lorne through to Sovereign Hill, with riders aged from 22-year-old Alex Dostal, up to 69-year-old Phil Turner.
Kicking off in the Victorian coastal resort of Lorne, the Tragics were treated to an adventure bike training session from Yamaha legend and regular Tragic Stephen Gall.
The appearance of the CDR Yamaha Monster Energy race truck was explained when not only did Tragic technician Gary Benn appear on his XTZ750 Super Ténéré – but also CDR boss and MX legend Craig Dack on a new Ténéré 700.
Later that evening keen adventure rider, TV star and racer Grant Denyer joined the Tragic crew, sharing stories from both his car racing and showbiz careers.
Dakar hero ‘Rocket’ Rod Faggotter joined for the last day and entertained the crew with his exploits in Saudi Arabia. Finally, the Tragics were treated to an insight into the fascinating life of global Ténéré ambassador and transworld explorer Nick Sanders.
UK-based Nick had just arrived in Australia on yet another circumnavigation of the globe – and travelled straight to the final night’s stop in Sovereign Hill, Ballarat to explain what motivates him to embark on mega-endurance rides – round the world twice on a bicycle and eight times on a motorcycle and counting…
Andrew Clubb – Tragics Organiser
“This year’s event delivered gold in spades thanks to a wide range of celebrity entertainment combined with epic trails and scenery – taking in the sights of the Great Ocean Road and the Otway and Grampian ranges – and of course the arrival of the new Tenere 700. Little did we know that when we ran the first event to the Flinders ten years ago that the Tragic spirit would still be going strong.”
