Triumph on Motocross Strategy | Vital MX Editorial 5

Triumph's entry into the off-road market has been an enigma for more than twenty-four months, with the engineers close to the project restricted by rigid non-disclosure agreements. Communication has been so sparse that wild speculation was born – naysayers refused to acknowledge the force behind their endeavor and labelled it as a copy of existing machines. 

Such outlandish claims would have been a slap in the face to those in Hinckley, Leicestershire, who worked feverishly to construct a race-winning package from nothing. A 'launch' inside of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum did little to refute claims – Ricky Carmichael piloted the machine, but little was conveyed in the form of technical data, and no one could survey the entry with a fine-tooth comb. Consider it a soft launch ahead of what was to come at the Monster Energy Motocross of Nations.

Armed with the motorcycle in race trim and a panel that featured industry figureheads like Vincent Bereni, Thierry Chizat-Suzzoni and Clement Desalle, Triumph's CPO Steve Sargent underlined the commitment to motocross across the board. "Coming into this world, motocross, and paddock shows a huge commitment from Triumph," Sargent claimed. "We understand that it is a very different and competitive world – we are putting an awful lot of commitment into developing a global race program that will grow as our off-road motorcycles develop. 

"You have probably seen some speculation in the press about what this bike is," Sargent continued. "Some people say, 'It is just a black version of this.' This bike has been developed by our squad in Hinckley from the ground up. It is a completely new design and a big commitment from Triumph. Not just a commitment, but a long-term one. To develop a production bike and race bike at the same time takes a great team of people working for you and partners working with you. We are so pleased with the response that Triumph has had from the public."

Motocross has been built on involvement from a core group of manufacturers. There are others who have expressed interest in entering the fray, put a toe in with a lackluster effort and retreated. The way in which Triumph uncovered their motorcycle and formidable squad left little doubt that there is no going back. It is in stark contrast to a manufacturer like Beta, for instance, who sit at the back of the paddock and could disappear at any moment. Beta has been in competition for three terms and so little is known about their commitment or plan for the future.

"We have always had the ambition to create a range of bikes," Sargent said whilst looking beyond a year of 250F competition. "We have always had the 450F in the plan, then we also have enduro bikes. 2024's all about the 250F and we focused on that because, from an engineering perspective, it is a great platform to focus on the development of the performance of the bike. We agree with the sentiment [that making a competitive 250F is much tricker than operating in the 450F division] and that is why we focused on it. It made sense to us." 

Entering the professional ranks in the 'feeder series' is a logical choice: the manufacturer would be judged much more harshly if Romain Febvre was struggling to unearth top-five potential on its steed. Racing with Mikkel Haarup and Camden McLellan provides them with a blank canvas, of sorts, as little is known about what those athletes can achieve. There is so much upside that will only benefit Triumph's reputation, if it is unleashed, and likewise struggles will not be so frowned upon. The riders were not named publicly, as their pre-existing contracts would not allow it.  

It is a much greater challenge to make a 250F engine that can match the almighty packages that are put out by Red Bull KTM Factory Racing or Monster Energy Yamaha Factory MX2. One must tackle the bigger tasks in order to reap rewards of a similar magnitude, however, and Sargent pointed to that fact. "In terms of getting the ultimate performance out of a single cylinder engine, the 250F is more of a challenge than a 450F. It is a great platform to start a race program and the 450F is not far behind, then we have enduro bikes that are in the plan. All of those will start to compete at a world level in 2025."

Buoyed by the announcement, those who operate within the sport must be thankful for Triumph's ambition and drive to be much more than a mere participant. Beta continue to float in the ether but perhaps Ducati, who had a representative observe the Triumph announcement, will bring a similar flavor to off-road sport?