Triumph Enters SuperMotocross World Championship
Triumph is making good on its promises. The company recently announced that it will be competing in the SuperMotocross World Championship starting with the 2024 season.
The announcement follows a 2021 statement of the famed motorcycle manufacturer’s intention to enter the world of motocross and enduro racing. Now, Triumph is realizing that intention with the establishment of a U.S. motocross team based in a new, state-of-the-art private race facility in the U.S.
The team, operating under the also new global Triumph Racing banner, will begin racing on Triumph 250cc four-stroke MX bikes. But the company is already looking further ahead — in 2025, it intends to also field a new 450cc bike in the SuperMotocross World Championship.
Leading the Triumph U.S. motocross team are team principal Bobby Hewitt and team manager Steven “Scuba” Westfall.
“I always knew I would eventually get back into racing but to be able to do it with an iconic brand like Triumph, and to be able to help build this US Triumph Racing team from the ground up is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Hewitt in a statement.
“I am honored to be working alongside everyone at the factory in Hinckley and cannot wait to get back to the racetrack in 2024 with our new team and compete for an SMX World Championship!"
Supporting the SuperMotocross team are two engineering legends. AMA Hall of Fame inductee Dave Arnold joins the team as Lead Chassis Engineer and Dudley Cramond joins as Lead Powertrain Engineer.
The new U.S.-based team—alongside a European racing team announced earlier in the year—will collaborate with Triumph’s headquarters in Hinkcley, Leicestershire, U.K. Triumph has established a dedicated in-house off-road design engineering department. Together with the team engineers, they will work to enhance chassis and engine performance through an intensive testing schedule underway in the U.S., U.K., and mainland Europe.
Both the U.S. and European teams are already hard at work testing new Triumph motocross bikes for the upcoming 2024 season. They’re sharing key data and rider feedback on the specifications, performance characteristics, and components with the Factory engineering group responsible for the concept and development of the powertrains and chassis for Triumph’s all-new motocross and dual sport motorcycle range.
This testing process means hobbyist riders, too, will get to enjoy the fruits of Triumph’s new motocross team’s labor. The company says more details of its new off-road range will be coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled for this space.