Report by Ben Purvis

It ' s been thirty years since the first Hinckley-built Triumphs rolled off the production line , and despite growth since then , the company has remained focussed on much the same market segments ever since . So the announcement that Triumph is developing a whole range of motocross and enduro machines marks arguably the biggest shift in focus in the Bloor-owned era . At the moment , the company isn ' t giving much away about the bikes themselves , saying only that it ' s developing a " comprehensive range of all-new competition motocross and enduro machines ". In the process , Triumph has signed two huge names from those worlds - ex-racers Ricky Carmichael and Ivan Cervantes , with a vast array of off-road titles between them in Motocross , Supercross and Enduro - to help guide the bikes ' development and the preparation of Triumph ' s entry into competition . While the Triumph brand has a strong heritage in off-road competition , it all

dates back to the post-war era rather than Bloor ' s ownership . The company has largely steered clear of open competition in recent years , often preferring one-make championships and involvement like the supply of Moto2 engines , where it ' s not in direct rivalry with other bike companies .

From a marketing perspective it ' s a strong strategy : proving motorsport credentials without the risk of being defeated on track by a direct rival . With the entry into what Triumph describes as " top tier championship racing in both Motocross and Enduro ", it will be in direct competition with the likes of Kawasaki , Honda , Yamaha and KTM , all companies with decades of

experience in off-road competition . Nick Bloor , Triumph ' s CEO , said the announcement " marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Triumph brand " and went on to explain " we are 100 % committed to making a long-lasting impact in this highly competitive and demanding world with a single-minded ambition to deliver a winning motorcycle line-up for a whole new generation of Triumph riders ." Why make the move into manufacturing a range of off-road machines now ? The answer lies in the American market . In the States , the already large market for ' off-highway ' motorcycles grew by 46.5 % in 2020 , and a further 45.4 % in the first quarter of 2021 . Triumph has eyed the US powersports market for several years and came within a whisker of entering it back in 2014 . At that time , Triumph planned to create a range of four-wheeled offroad vehicles including a 4wd side-by-side powered by a threecylinder engine . A number of engineers

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