TWO FOR TRIUMPH FROM CERVANTES

Although Ivan Cervantes and Ricky Carmichael were brought onboard to assist with the forthcoming motocrossers, the dynamic duo has been busy with other projects for Triumph. RC is currently taking the long way around on his annual ride to Sturgis which Dealernews has chronicled in the past (we will catch up with RC in a coming issue). IC decided to take a break in development of the MX racer to set a world record and win a title for Tiger.

Whilst touring the factory in Hinckley following the 400’s launch in London, we saw a fly-specked white liveried but otherwise unremarkable Tiger 1200 GT Explorer sitting by itself away from the production line. “Oh that? It is the bike Cervantes set the 24-hour Guinness Book of World Records on,” noted our host, barely breaking stride as we went from the pin-stripping area towards the dyno rooms. “We will probably move it up to the Museum at the Triumph Experience Center when we get the time…”

Between the global unveil of the two 400s, the North American Dealer Awards, Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and a host of additional roll-outs coming — “we still have 2-3 bikes a month to introduce leading up to AIMExpo,” says North American GM Rod Lopusnak — Triumph is having to prioritize what it can actually address… and when. However it is not every day you set a new world record, so we prioritized Cervantes Day in the saddle.

Cervantes, 5x Enduro World Champion and Triumph Global Ambassador, took a day off from developing the new motocross bike to set a record on the pavement. The team officially claimed the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours. Riding a bone stock Tiger 1200 GT Explorer on the High-Speed Ring at the Nardò Technical Center in Italy, Cervantes averaged more than 200kph for more than 2,493 miles (4012km) in a 24-hour period. Talk about an iron butt!

Cervantes and Triumph topped the previous world record of 2116.39 miles (3406km) by more than 372.82 miles (600km)... and it was done on a stock motorcycle. 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 record attempt was witnessed and validated by a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS adjudicator on 30th April 2023, with a final confirmed distance of 4012.53km – a distance equivalent to traveling from London to the Great Pyramid of Giza in 24 hours! Watch the whole story here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGY7vPbaQ78