If you’re into motorcycles, you will know all the great things that the British brand Triumph Motorcycles is known for. From the all-conquering Tiger ADV range to classic Bonnevilles, from the mental Daytona 675 Supersport range to the sublime Street Triple range, Triumph knows a thing or two about making motorcycles with mind-blowing capabilities.
Now, however, Triumph is looking to broaden its horizons as the company seeks to get into competitive motocross and enduro motorcycles. To start developing their brand new MX and Enduro (Dual Sport) activities, Triumph Motorcycles has come up with some big plans. The British brand recently announced that it has hired the services of MX world legend Ricky Carmichael and five-time Enduro World Champion Iván Cervantes to develop their comprehensive new range of competitive motocross and enduro machines. The fact that Triumph has teamed up with the likes of Carmichael and Cervantes speaks for the company’s ambitions. You definitely mean business.
Together with legends: Ricky Carmichael and Iván Cervantes
In case you don’t know the names above. This is what your résumé looks like …
Let’s start with RC. With a record of 15 motocross and five supercross championships, RC is aptly referred to as “The GOAT” of motocross racing. He has won more than 150 races and has been voted AMA Driver of the Year five times during his racing career. RC retired from motocross / supercross racing in 2007, but has since been associated with the sport as many great athletes normally do. You can bet that with their racing know-how and insane driving skills, Triumph will surely be able to create a potent MX screamer.
RC partner in the development project, Iván Cervantes, is no less legendary because the Spaniard is a five-time world champion in enduro racing. At the age of 23, Ivan became the first Spanish rider to be crowned champion in the EnduroGP E1 category. This was followed by three titles in the EnduroGP and one title in the FIM Indoor Enduro World Cup championship. Apparently he also took part in the Dakar Rally. In fairness it can be said that he is the right man for the job.
With Carmichael and Cervantes on board, Triumph is definitely looking at the big picture here. While the company aims to “race and win at the highest level in the sport” with this new development project, the magic of these racing machines will definitely permeate their off-road line of street motorcycles. However, if you’ve driven a Tiger 900 Rally Pro or the Scrambler 1200 before, you know Triumph comes in pretty handy when building off-road motorcycles. And the new development team will only help them improve these products further. At the same time, you can expect a brand new line of motocross and dual sport motorcycles from Triumph to be launched soon. The kind of stuff that brands like Honda, KTM, Kawasaki, etc. are already selling. However, the company’s main goal will be to build racing motorcycles. They signed these multiple championship winners for a reason.
Which bikes can be expected and when?
You won’t be seeing Triumph’s new line of motocross or dual sport motorcycles any time soon, although they should be out in a couple of months. What to Expect Well, first of all, Triumph will likely bring lightweight off-roaders – something in the 250-300cc displacement range. However, you can be sure that bigger, more powerful 450-500cc motorcycles will follow suit. In addition, Triumph will also sell these motorcycles to customers. In addition to dirt bikes suitable for competition, street-legal dual sport motorcycles are also produced.
And don’t let the picture above fool you. It is a Tiger 900 Rally Pro which is shown for illustration purposes only.
An ambitious but promising project
At this point, Triumph’s racing plans sound quite ambitious. However, they respond with full conviction. Time will tell whether your project succeeds or not. But given the company’s efforts, it definitely looks like they will be participating in competitive off-road events and races for a long time to come. Such plans are not made overnight, they must have thought about them long and hard before facing this challenge.
As for Triumph’s experience in racing, Triumph became the exclusive engine supplier for the Moto2 series in MotoGP from 2019. As the only engine manufacturer for the intermediate class of MotoGP, Triumph supplies 765 cc three-cylinder engines to all participating teams. This is the same power unit that does its job in the company’s Street Triple RS Roadster, although it develops over 140 horsepower in the racing bike, making it around 17% more powerful than the production bike. The Moto2 spec motorcycles powered by Triumph’s three-cylinder screamer can reach over 300 km / h (186 mph).
Overall, we expect some great things from Triumph’s collaboration with Ricky Carmichael and Iván Cervantes. Not to mention that the arrival of a new brand in the world of off-road and dirt bike racing will only make things even sharper for us fans.
Continue reading
About the author
