Triumph debut 250 motocross racer and confirm full November reveal

The SuperMotocross World Championship final at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California played host to the first public reveal of Triumph’s incoming 250cc motocross bike.

Taking place on Saturday, 23 September, a pair of machines were put through their paces by former champion and current manager of Triumph’s US Adventure Experience, Jeff ‘Six Time’ Stanton, plus Triumph ambassador and winningest motocross racer of all time, Ricky Carmichael.

“I’m so happy to finally show the fans what we’ve been working on for the past four years,” Carmichael said. “The bikes feel great, it looks great, and it’s fast.

“I’m really pleased with what we’ve delivered, and I can’t wait until we can share the final details on November 28th.”

Ricky’s bike was dressed in a unique graphics kit and featured some aftermarket componentry, with Jeff riding a production version. Alongside the riding display, screens around the stadium confirmed that the full reveal of the bike will take place on Tuesday, 28 November.

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Triumph’s development team discuss their new motocross chassis

First published on 28 July 2023 by Stuart Prestidge

Triumph have shared a video in which Ricky Carmichael, Bobby Hewitt, Dave Arnold, Ivan Tedesco and Stephen “Scuba” Westfall discuss Triumph’s new motocross chassis. Another episode will be released on August 14th.

Watch the video here:

Triumph confirm Motocross World Championship entry for 2024

First published 26 September 2022 by Stuart Prestidge

Triumph Motorcycles have taken the next step in their MX and enduro project by announcing their entry to the FIM Motocross World Championship in 2024, with a factory supported race programme under an all-new Triumph Racing banner.

The new Triumph Racing Team has been set-up in partnership with Thierry Chizat-Suzzoni, who will field two of Triumph’s all-new 250cc 4-stroke MX bikes in the 2024 MX2 class.

An entry into the 450cc MXGP class will take place in 2025, Triumph have also confirmed.

Mr Chizat-Suzzoni said: “Triumph have made a major commitment to build an MX bike and go racing in the FIM World Motocross Championship.

“I am happy that my team is going to be the official Triumph Racing Team in MX2 and MXGP. Nick Bloor and the Triumph Board of Directors have made their long-term ambitions for the project very clear and I see a huge amount of passion from everyone at the factory.

“I am happy with progress on the bike, it looks great, has speed on the track and Vincent and my staff are working with the engineers at Hinckley on building it into a competitive package for entry into the MX2 Championship in 2024. MXGP continues to grow around the world.”

Team Manager, Vincent Bereni, will continue leading the team, with testing of the new Triumph motocross and enduro bikes now underway.

Specifications, performance characteristics and components of each model will be released in due course.

Nick Bloor – Triumph CEO, added: “Thee experience Thierry and his team bring will prove invaluable in our ambition to make our mark on a very competitive championship.

“Our entry into the FIM Motocross World Championship with a factory supported Triumph Racing team signifies a landmark moment at the beginning of our new top-tier off-road racing campaign.”

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‘It’s been freakin’ awesome, man!’ – Off-road legends talk developing Triumph’s new MX/enduro range

First published on 1 June 2022 by Dan Sutherland

In late July 2021 Triumph shocked the off-road world by announcing a range of competition motocross and enduro bikes were in the works. Not only this, but they were also being developed by Ricky Carmichael and Ivan Cervantes – two of the greatest dirt racers in history.

At the time, Triumph said an announcement of the timetable for launch, plus a reveal of the bikes would ‘follow in the coming months’. However, details have remained hidden ever since.

To find out exactly what to expect and when, MCN sat down with the dirt riding duo, plus Chief Product Officer Steve Sargent, in an exclusive interview at the factory.

“They’re all competition off-road motorcycles,” Steve Sargent said. “We have a range of motocross and a range of enduro motorcycles in development. The enduro motorcycles will be road registrable, but the motocross bikes will be pure off-road performance motorcycles.”

He continued: “There will be a range of engine sizes. I’m not going to reveal today what they are, but they’re already well under development. Everything is already fixed in terms of the specification of what we’re going to deliver, but we’re not at that stage where we’re going to deliver that to the press.”

The latest round of this development work was completed only the day before our Friday May 27 interview. When asked about it, 15-time motocross champion, Carmichael said: “We gathered some great info that I feel has put us on the right track to be extremely close to [where] we need to be.

“What I love about it is we want to build the best bike, we want to win, and I’ve been enthused by the motivation of the whole company. It’s been freakin’ awesome, man.”

This was echoed by enduro veteran Cervantes, himself a five-time world champion, who’s been focussing on the chassis development of the enduro models.

“Yesterday, when we finished the test, you could see the faces of everybody involved,” the Spanish rider explained. “Everybody is going in the same direction, and this is amazing. I am like a small kid with a sweet – I’m excited every morning when I get up!

“And working with Ricky – for me is a big pleasure – because since I was a kid racing motocross, Ricky has been my idol.”

Although Triumph revealed the plans to the public in July last year, the development of the two ranges stretches back far further, with Carmichael throwing a leg over a prototype model for the first time at his own US track the week before the Covid-19 pandemic took hold.

“We got going just before Covid hit then things slowed down, but every time that I’ve been on the machine it’s gotten better and better,” Ricky added. “I’ve been around some great companies and done a lot of great things, but I was blown away.”

And, while we may still not know the full details, including when we might see at least images of a finished motorcycle, the testing pair were able to share their highlights of the bikes so far.

“I’ve been pleased with just how balanced the motorcycle is, in all aspects,” Carmichael continued. “How it handles – whether it’s rough tracks, smooth tracks – cornering, jumps, you name it. That’s what I’ve been pleased with, it does a lot of things well.”

Ivan then added: “For the enduro machine, you put the bike in extreme conditions. You need to climb the mountains and across stones, grass, sand, and every type of ground. At the beginning I said we need a very good chassis… because we need a very quick bike in the narrow, difficult places.”

MCN will bring you first pictures and specs of the bikes in July.

Will there be Triumph rally bikes?

Ivan Cervantes is no stranger to rally racing, having completed the infamous Dakar twice. When asked whether this could influence potential future rally models, Steve Sargent didn’t rule it out.

“If you look at some rally raid races going on, a lot of those bikes have developed from an enduro platform.

“Also from motocross engines and other platforms. It’s an area where you can stretch what you learn from enduro and MX into a different environment, so there’s always the opportunity to do that going forward.”

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Triumph reveal bold plans for new MX and enduro machines

First published on 20 July 2021 by Andy Calton

Triumph are planning an assault on the lucrative motocross and enduro market – with two big-name ambassadors helping them to blaze a new off-road trail.

The Hinckley-based operation have outlined ambitious plans to create a whole new range of competition machines, with a factory race programme and teams competing at the highest level in both motocross and enduro.

Spearheading the bid is Ricky Carmichael, hailed by many as the greatest MX racer of all time. The 41-year-old American has won 12 AMA Motocross and Supercross titles and has scooped five medals at the X games which saw him performing wild stunts.

He is joined by Ivan Cervantes, five-times world enduro champion. The 39-year-old has also completed the Dakar twice. Both are retired from full time racing but are still heavily involved in the sport. Bosses say the prestigious signings “have joined the Triumph family as active partners in both bike testing and preparation for racing”.

Exactly what bikes Triumph will build and when is yet to be confirmed, but company CEO Nick Bloor told us: “This announcement marks the beginning of a new chapter for Triumph, which everyone at Triumph is incredibly excited to be part of.

“We are 100% committed to making a long-lasting impact in this highly competitive and demanding world, with a single-minded ambition to deliver a winning motorcycle line-up for a whole new generation of Triumph riders.”

The off-road motorcycle market has been growing globally over the last five years and recent research by Market Study Report LLC suggests that it could grow by another 10 per cent by 2026 with 410,000 ‘competition’ off roaders predicted to be sold. With Triumph hoping to sell 75,000 motorcycles around the world this year, it’s clear that an off-road offering could prove invaluable.

Triumph have a rich history of off-road success with the TR6 being Steve McQueen’s weapon of choice in the 60s and early 70s. And McQueen’s friend and stunt double Bud Ekins won the ISDT on a Triumph TR6 SCT in 1962.

It seems KTM, Honda, GasGas, Husqvarna, Kawasaki, Yamaha and co are about to get a serious new rival for dirt domination. The American market is particularly lucrative which is possibly one of the reasons why Ricky Carmichael is seen as key to lending Triumph extra credibility.

Carmichael said: “I am thrilled to be joining the Triumph family and am honoured and humbled to be a part of the development and release of their off-road motorcycles.

“Building something from the ground up is is intriguing at this stage of my career. What is impressive to me is Triumph’s dedication, and passion to develop a top-of-the-class product.

“Everyone that I have been involved with in this project from the engineers, design groups and R&D dept… has shown extreme passion for what they are doing and that is a recipe for success and something that I really love being a part of.

“Not only are these exciting times for me, but it’s an exciting time for the off-road industry to be adding another brand to the mix and the opportunities that lie ahead for all off-road consumers. I can’t wait to see the reactions when these models hit the dealer’s showroom floors.”

Triumph say an announcement about the new off-road range and more complete detail on the factory-backed racing programme is expected over the next few months and with two major motorcycle shows happening in November, we could see some motocross and enduro Triumphs reaching UK showrooms in the not-too distant future.

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See Triumph’s Tiger 900 off-road in the video below: