Triumph rewarded for its Moto2 project but no plans for MotoGP

On their arrival at Spa, Tait’s “ragbag team” was assigned the same pit area as the mighty MV Agusta squad – like the village tramp trying to dine with the lord of the manor – which got the weekend off to a tricky start.

“At first the MV mechanics could not believe that the tatty Transit was entering the pit of the great and mighty and duly refused entry,” Williams continued. “The order of the day then became fisticuffs and things, so Arthur [Jakeman, tuner and mechanic], who is quite large, showed the smallest Italian his fist, and the trusty van, which I might add was also the mobile hotel, cookhouse, workshop and perhaps with a bit of luck a resting place for a passing maiden, was in. The MV mechanics moved their beloved machines as far as possible from this new outfit, worried they might catch oil leaks and things.”

Forty-year-old Tait was a brave and gifted rider and the T100 was fast enough to lead the first lap of the Belgian GP, before Giacomo Agostini came past on his 80-horsepower MV four, which enjoyed a 30mph top-speed advantage over the Triumph, which nudged 140mph on the downhill sections. At the chequered flag Tait was the only rider on the same lap as Ago, the podium completed by fellow Brit Alan Barnett, riding a Matchless Metisse.

The team received a hero’s reception (from the workers, not the management) on its return to Meriden. Williams again, “They returned to the factory to great joy and jubilation from Doug Hele and all the workers that drilled holes and things and did the putting of the motorcycles together. They all knew it was good for the order men and perhaps more pennies in their wages sack, as they were all good people and proud of their craft”.

Triumph’s oily efforts at Spa were a million miles away from Triumph’s official entry into Moto2 fifty years later.

During that half century’s absence, GP racing had changed utterly, from the largely amateur Continental Circus to a global corporate enterprise.

“The usual discrepancy between engines is between one and 1.3 horsepower”

Triumph’s job is to supply engines to 32 riders at 22 GPs, stretching from March to November and from Argentina to Japan. It’s a massive undertaking, run with military precision by Triumph and ExternPro, the Dorna-owned company that builds the engines at Aragon MotorLand in Spain.

During Triumph’s first five seasons in Moto2 – its current contract goes to the end of 2029 – its 765 engine covered more than 800,000 miles, slightly more than a return trip to the moon.

The 765 make 142 horsepower, good enough for 187mph (300km/h) at Mugello last June. The hard-worked engines are replaced and rebuilt every third race, with ExternPro toiling throughout the season to rebuild engines, which are allocated randomly via a lottery system. All engines are dyno’d before allocation, to ensure fairness – the usual discrepancy is between one and 1.3 horsepower.

“We learn a lot from Moto2 that we can bring back into our road bikes,” says Paul Stroud, Triumph’s chief commercial officer. “There are a few key areas, like performance – when we started Moto2 in 2019 the 765 Street Triple had 123PS (121 horsepower), now it’s got 130. Some of that came from improved combustion and cylinder pressure, plus we’ve made a marked improvement in fuel efficiency.

“This year’s Moto2 engine has a small improvement in power and revs, but the most exciting thing is the requirement to run a 40% sustainable fuel mix. This gives us a very interesting learning platform to see how we can bring that technology into our road engines. Who knows, it may present a different route forward to change electric power.

“We are running this fuel on dynos at Triumph and at ExternPro. It makes no difference to what we can deliver in terms of power, which is quite exciting.”

Triumph’s Moto2 adventure was made possible by building magnate John Bloor, who invested around £80 million to build the new Triumph motorcycle business from nothing during the 1980s.

In July 1990 I was part of a small group of journalists that visited the factory in Hinckley, a half hour drive from Meriden. We were all wary of Bloor’s enterprise, because for some years we had been introduced to so many new “British world-beaters”, which all met ignominious ends.

A few months after that visit I was back at Hinckley to collect one of the company’s first road test bikes, with fellow road tester John Robinson. We made a pact for our stories – Robbo would start his engine first and I’d be the first to ride out of the factory gates, aboard a 1200 Trophy.

Compared to all the other “British world-beaters” I’d tried in previous years the Trophy was already on another level and from there Triumph got better and better. I was so impressed I bought one of the first 900cc Tigers in 1993 and another Tiger in 2010. And one of my all-time favourite road bikes is the 675R sports bike.

Bloor senior is now retired from the business, which is run by son Nick.

So, why did Triumph change the habit of several lifetimes and decide to test itself in the white heat of GP racing?

“We knew we had an engine that could do the job and it’s been great to help us keep learning and developing,” says Nick Bloor. “Obviously we take what we learn from Moto2 – the performance and efficiency of the engine – and feed that back into our knowledge for our 765 Street Triple road bike and other engines. Plus, Moto2 is a great way to demonstrate our engineering capabilities to the world.”

Which begs the obvious question: will Triumph take the next step and move into MotoGP?

“No, that’s not for us,” says Bloor. “However, we are taking a step in that direction by entering the world of off-road grands prix, through the MX2 and Supercross world championships.”

Triumph’s decision to attack off-road racing – announced in December 2022 – surprised many people. Then ten months later by Ducati’s announcement that it too will enter the motocross arena.

“We are looking to grow, progress and attract younger riders through motocross and Supercross,” adds Stroud. “We also have some heritage in that sector from the good old days, when Steve McQueen raced Triumphs in the desert.”

Triumph’s started its push to encourage younger riders onto two wheels a couple of years ago, when it bought the Oset electric-bike brand, which makes electric trials and motocross machines for riders from three-years-old.

The company begins its new off-road adventure at the USA’s Detroit Supercross round on 4th February and at the season-opening Argentine MX2 GP on 9th/10th March.