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TIGER ' S TRIUMPHANT WORLD RECORD
Iván Cervantes , five times Enduro World Champion and Triumph Global Ambassador , has officially claimed the Guiness World Record™ title for ‘ The greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours by an individual ’.
Riding a Tiger 1200 GT Explorer on the High-Speed Ring at the Nardò Technical Center in Italy , Cervantes travelled more than 4012 kilometres in a 24-hour period , beating the previous record of 3406km by a margin of more than 600km .
The record attempt was witnessed and validated by a Guiness World Record adjudicator on 30th April 2023 , with a final confirmed distance of 4012.53km – a distance equivalent to travelling from London to the Great Pyramid of Giza in 24 hours !
Since joining the Triumph team , Cervantes has seen great success in riding and competing on Triumph adventure motorcycles , sealing wins at the Baja Aragón , 1000 Dunas Raid , and Basella Maxi-Trail Race .
In preparation for the record attempt , in addition to intensive physical training on his own Tiger 1200 Rally Pro , Cervantes began carefully planning his nutrition and sleep strategy , in partnership with Professor Andrew Bagshaw at the University of Birmingham .
The motorcycle used for the attempt was a Tiger 1200 GT Explorer , chosen at random from the production line at Triumph ’ s factory in Hinckley , UK . No special modifications were made to the bike , other than completing the recommended running in and first service schedule before the attempt was undertaken .
The Tiger 1200 family has been designed to deliver the ultimate in adventure bike touring capability , with exceptional comfort and unbeatable character , an area we took issue with when travelling long distances ( see TRAVERSE Issue 34 for greater details ).
For the record attempt , features such as the 30-litre fuel tank and excellent wind protection were invaluable in ensuring Iván could continue riding , whatever challenges he encountered along the way .
Heated grips and seats provided additional comfort during the cold early-morning hours and unexpected downpours of rain , while the powerful T-Plane triple engine and advanced electronics provided effortless power and control . High-intensity LED lights ensured Iván always had exceptional visibility when riding , even in the complete darkness of the remote testing facility at
Nardò .
Underlining the excellent performance and reliability of the Tiger 1200 , the only maintenance required on the bike was a single , planned tyre change half way through the attempt , where the standard fit Metzeler Tourance™ Next tyres were refreshed as the rain started and night began to fall .
The existing Guiness World Records title of 3406.17km was achieved by American Carl Reese on 26th February 2017 , recording an average speed over 24 hours of 141.9km / h .
Riding consistently at speeds of over 200km / h at the Nardò Technical Center in Italy , Cervantes surpassed the existing record with an incredible 5 hours to spare in the 24-hour window . Not content to simply beat the record , he set his sights on defining a new benchmark for this challenge – 4000km .
In the 5 hours that followed , he proceeded to ride a further 606km – essentially matching the existing record then continuing to ride the equivalent of the width of France in addition .
The record attempt was witnessed by an official adjudicator , who validated the final distance travelled in 24 hours as 4012.53km , with an average speed of 167.79km / h .
" The Tiger 1200 GT Explorer was the perfect bike for this attempt ," explained Cervantes . " It ’ s very comfortable to ride for a long time . For sure , the hardest part was the weather , because it started to rain , but this bike has a very big screen and excellent protection , which helped me a lot . It is a very special bike for me . It ’ s not easy to ride for 24 hours in a row but , in the end , the record is mine with this amazing bike !"
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