Troy Dog
The Triumph team is coming to the SuperMotocross World Championship, and that is one sentence that I thought I’d never write! It’s true and it’s incredible news for the sport. Not only will this add more jobs for the riders, but it adds more team personnel jobs as well. The Triumph team made a power move off of the rip by announcing the hiring of Ricky Carmichael as the Global Off-road Ambassador. The hiring of the GOAT was the ultimate flex to the industry that Triumph is in this for the long haul and they. want to build the program into a dominant force.
The most incredible task that Triumph has taken on is the fact that they have been building their new 250 and 450 from the ground up! That’s not easy and something we haven’t seen since the infamous Cannondale, which was 20+ years ago. The plan for Triumph is to enter the 250 and MX2 classes in 2024 and then expand into 450 and MXGP markets for 2025. It’ll be here before we know it and adding another factory team to the paddock is always a great thing.
One of the coolest parts about this entire deal is that Triumph, although known as a street bike brand, has a rich heritage and a great reputation. They aren’t going to just throw everything and the kitchen sink at these new bikes and hope it works. No, everything will be methodically planned out to make sure this program goes smoothly and is in contention off of the bat.
I think that riders will be chomping at the bit to get a chance to ride at Triumph next season. I think the team will be aggressive in making sure they go after race winners and championship contenders. Some teams start off with a few building years before getting some star power at the brand, but with a team of RC, Dave Arnold, Bobby Hewitt, Steve Westfall, and other key additions this team’s future is set. They plan on winning and soon.
How about a Jason Anderson and Bobby Hewitt reunion in 2025 as Anderson finishes off his career? Now that would be something cool to see. Another 2-4 jobs in the 250 class next year will be needed and it will stack the class even more, which is what you want as a series. Think about when Beta joins the fray as well. The more support and teams that are involved in this sport then the healthier our sport will be which will hopefully bring more money and eyes to the sport.
Main image: Triumph
