HISTORIC FIRST PODIUM FOR TF 250-X AT MXGP ROUND ONE

Mikkel Haarup goes 5-2 for third overall in Argentina

Triumph’s TF 250-X has made an exceptional debut in the MX2 World Championship, with Monster Energy Triumph Racing’s MX2 racer Mikkel Haarup placing a stunning third overall at the MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina.

Delivering a truly outstanding performance at the 2024 season-opener, the Dane followed up his first-moto fifth with a close runner-up finish in race two to secure Triumph’s first overall podium result in the MX2 World Championship.

Heading to the start line for race one confident of a strong showing, Haarup emerged from the first turn with the leading riders. Starting from seventh, Haarup was up to fifth within a few laps and stayed with the frontrunners to the very end of the opening moto.

Excited to improve upon his race one result, Mikkel started moto two in the best way possible by taking a stunning holeshot! Leading the world for nearly five laps, the 22-year-old slipped to second then found himself locked in a fierce battle for the moto victory. Charging hard to the finish, Haarup crossed the finish line as a close runner-up, just under two seconds from the race win, and was rewarded with third overall.

Following an incredible day of action in Argentina, Monster Energy Triumph Racing will now return to Europe and prepare for round two of the 2024 FIM MX2 Motocross World Championship, the MXGP of Spain, on March 23-24.

Mikkel Haarup: “Yeah, it’s been a really amazing start to the season! A podium is perfect and a great way to start the year for myself, and Monster Energy Triumph Racing. My qualifying race was not so good, but I knew that I had the speed to run in the top three today. All through the off-season we have been building and building and what we’ve achieved today is the result of a lot of hard work by everyone involved.

“I felt comfortable on the bike all weekend and that was really important on a tricky track like this. Today we’ve shown what this bike is capable of and overall, I’m really happy with my performance.”

Vincent Bereni, Monster Energy Triumph Racing Team Manager: “A great start for the team and also Triumph. It has been a long road to get here and clearly, hard work pays off. Everyone on the team, the riders, the mechanics, everyone has worked so hard to get here and what Mikkel has achieved today is incredible. We knew we would be competitive but until you race, you never really know. But now we do.”

With a class-leading power to weight ratio and the most complete specification package, the TF 250-X was officially revealed in November. Developed entirely by Triumph, the new four stroke competition model is an all-new ground-up design. The performance racing powertrain and unique aluminium chassis are ultra compact and super light, with all the best components on the market, already fitted out of the crate.

The TF 250-X will be available from a new Triumph network of specialist motocross dealers from Spring 2024.

Results – MXGP of Patagonia-Argentina

MX2 Race 1:

1. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 34:23.626

2. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 34:25.711

3. Thibault Benistant (Yamaha) 34:26.108

4. Marc Antoine-Rossi (GASGAS) 34:35.934

5. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 34:36.403

6. Sacha Coenen (KTM) 34:56.363

11. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 35:12.556

MX2 Race 2:

1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 34:55.608

2. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 34:57.163

3. Lucas Coenen (Husqvarna) 35:07.235

4. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 35:09.470

5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 35:36.258

6. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 35:37.174

MX2 Overall

1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 47pts

2. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 43pts

3. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 38pts

4. Thibault Benistant (Yamaha) 34pts

5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 29pts

6. Ferruccio Zanchi (Honda) 27pts

9. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 25pts

MX2 World Championship Standings

1. Kay de Wolf (Husqvarna) 56pts

2. Simon Langenfelder (GASGAS) 50pts

3. Thibault Benistant (Yamaha) 40pts

4. Mikkel Haarup (Triumph) 38pts

5. Andrea Adamo (KTM) 37pts

6. Marc-Antoine Rossi (GASGAS) 32pts

10. Camden McLellan (Triumph) 25pts

For more information, please contact: enquiries.racing@triumph.co.uk

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Notes to Editors
ABOUT TRIUMPH RACING

• First established in 1902, Triumph Motorcycles has a glorious racing history, competing in and winning races in almost every class and field of motorcycle sporting achievement. From winning the second ever Isle of Man TT in 1908, through to 1960s road and track domination in Europe and America, right up to contemporary racing achievements with the Triumph triple powered 2014 and 2015 SuperSport titles and World SuperSport racing, Isle of Man SuperSport TT wins in 2014 and 2019, courtesy of Gary Johnson and Peter Hickman, plus an average speed of over 130mph 2023 by Peter Hickman on his Triumph STR765, and a thrilling last-lap victory at the legendary Daytona 200 by Brandon Paasch on the Street Triple 765 in 2022.
• Triumph’s racing legend continues as the exclusive engine supplier to the FIM Moto2™ World Championship since the start of the 2019 season. Triumph Motorcycles provides all the teams with race-tuned 765cc triples, each of which is based on the class-leading Street Triple RS powerplant. Redefining the class, Triumph broke record after record in the inaugural year, including the first ever +300km/h Moto2™ top speed. Reflecting these great successes, the wonderful feedback, and partnerships that Triumph have had with the riders and their teams, and the incredible response from Triumph fans across the world, Triumph and Dorna decided to extend the relationship in 2021 and again in 2023, signing a new contract for another five years of racing: 2025 – 2029.
• In 2021 Triumph announced its forthcoming entry into the Motocross and Enduro worlds with the single-minded ambition and commitment to develop a championship winning team.
• In 2022, the appointment of Team Principal Bobby Hewitt and Team Manager Stephen ‘Scuba’ Westfall was announced. The team will be located at a dedicated new state-of-the-art private race facility in the USA.
• In 2023, Triumph announced its intention to compete in the 2024 MXGP/MX2 and SuperMotocross World Championships and confirmed the appointment of two top class riders to lead its race development testing. Clément Desalle joined as test rider for the Triumph Racing MXGP/MX2 Team, run by Thierry Chizat-Suzzoni, and Ivan Tedesco joined as full-time test rider for the Triumph Racing US SuperMotocross World Championship Team, led by Bobby Hewitt.
• In September 2023, Triumph’s new 250cc motocross bike was revealed in public for the first time, at the SuperMotocross World Championship Final at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in California.
• In October 2023, Monster Energy was unveiled as the title sponsor of the MX2 team, named ‘Monster Energy Triumph Racing’ and the race bike was unveiled at the Motocross of Nations. In November the riders Mikkel Haarup and Camden McLellan were announced.
• In January 2024, the Triumph Racing SuperMotocross team line-up was announced with Jalek Swoll and Evan Ferry racing the 250SX East Supercross series, while Joey Savatgy joins them for the Pro Motocross series later in the year.
• In February 2024, Triumph Racing competed at its first ever Supercross event in Detroit in the 250SX East category with its new Triumph TF 250-X, while the Monster Energy Triumph Racing competed in Spain as a pre-season warm-up for the MX2 World Championship, followed by a further pre-season race in France.
• On March 10 2024 Triumph lined up for its first ever FIM Motocross World Championship event with the Monster Energy Triumph Racing Team in Patagonia, Argentina. Mikkel Haarup made history by taking a podium third for Triumph’s inaugural outing with the TF 250-X, scoring 5-2 results across the two motos including a holeshot award for an incredible start in the second race. His teammate Camden McLellan went 11-6 for an impressive ninth overall.