Triumph and Dorna called a press conference this afternoon to make an announcement. And it could only ever have been to announce one of two things; that Triumph were going to continue supplying engines to the Moto2 grid, or that they weren’t. Turns out the former is true, as the Hinkley Massive have signed up for another three years.
And it should come as no real surprise because Triumph’s relationship with Moto2 has been a fairly successful one. For starters, you rarely see a Moto2 bike break down, if you do it’s not normally because of the engine. And you’d have to say that the extra power the 765cc motors deliver, at least in part, have been responsible for nearly all the Moto2 lap records being beaten in the last few years. They’re strong, reliable motors.
In fact they’re so strong, that modern Moto2 bikes are capable of doing 300km/h. The record stands at 301.8km/h (187.5mph) at Philip Island. Not bad for 138bhp.
And the success of riders like Alex Marquez, Brad Binder and Jorge Martin after moving up to MotoGP only goes to show how well riding the Triumph powered Moto2 machine prepares the riders for the big leagues. And Dorna’s intent to bring the Moto2 class closer to MotoGP, for just that reason, has been no secret.
Steve Sargent, Triumph Motorcycles Chief Product Officer, had this to say
Steve Sargent
”Moto2 has been the perfect environment to showcase, and prove the reliability and performance advantages of, our triple engines, where we have seen the top 20 qualifying times consistently come within a second of each other. Not only has it raised our profile and credibility on the world stage, for me the success of Moto2 has also been an incredible catalyst, reigniting the passion for racing within Triumph motorcycles. I am delighted to have played a part in this landmark activity for Triumph and excited to see the extension to another 3 seasons. We are committed to delivering further improvements to the performance of the engines, which we are sure will be appreciated by both the riders and the teams.
And Carlos Ezpeleta, Dorna Sports Managing Director, said
Carlos Ezpeleta
“Our first years together have been a wonderful success and I’d like to thank Triumph for their help and hard work over these first three years – especially during the pandemic. The FIM, IRTA and Dorna are happy with the results this project has shown and it’s validated the consistency of the steps between Moto3™, Moto2™ and MotoGP™. Overall, we are pleased with the partnership and we look forward to three more exciting years together.”
In case you didn’t know, the engines that Triumph provide the Moto2 teams are all race-tuned 765cc triples, based on the Street Triple RS engine. They’ve been faffed about with to allow them to breathe a bit more freely, rev harder and deliver 17% more power compared to the production engine.
But what does it mean for us? Well, if you ask me, Triumph extending their ‘Race Program’ for another three years can mean only one thing… that we’re going to see a proper Triumph sportsbike, and hopefully soon. Or is that just wishful thinking?
I know they teased us with the Daytona Moto2 765, but they were only really teasing us with it, weren’t they? It was a limited edition and they all sold out within a few weeks.
So come on Triumph, sort it out. Let’s have another Triumph sportsbike for the masses.
One Response
MAKE A FLOCKING LARGE BORE DAYTONA stop freaking around with 20 different Bonneville models….get to it Triumph !!!! Sell better than that carbon wrapped POS Moto 2 replica …which here in USA has already lost $4K off retail !