Marco Bezzecchi wins the first Triumph Triple Trophy, running alongside the Moto2 World Championship

Sky Racing Team VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi has become the first Triumph Triple Trophy winner, reaching an unassailable lead after the Grand Prix of Europa with two rounds remaining.

The Italian quickly got up to speed and scored his first points at the second round in Jerez. By the third round another fastest top speed saw him take the series lead.

After an early-season tussle with compatriot Enea Bastianini, Bezzecchi went on to stamp his authority on the class by setting the fastest top speed at nine races - a top speed which at four of those was shared exactly with at least one other rider, and more often than not was only tenths of kilometre per hour faster, demonstrating the parity across the Triumph 765cc triple engines and the closeness of the category.

The Triumph Triple Trophy was launched at the start of the season to celebrate exactly that closeness of competition in Moto2, recognising that the race win is only one dimension of the story from a Grand Prix weekend.

The Triumph Triple Trophy awards points to riders across three categories: fastest top speed, pole position and the fastest race lap, with the winner at the end of the year receiving a Triumph Street Triple RS, featuring the 765cc triple powerplant from which the Moto2 engine is derived.

Throughout this season, new outright lap or race lap records have been set at nine Grands Prix using Triumph’s 765cc triple engines, bettering the existing benchmarks which were smashed in 2019 during Triumph’s inaugural year as Official Moto2 Engine Supplier. Further, new top speeds have been set at all but two of this year’s 15 rounds, demonstrating the performance progress since the last year’s debut which revolutionised the class.

Steve Sargent, Triumph’s Chief Product Officer, said: “Congratulations to Marco on becoming our first winner of the Triumph Triple Trophy! Our intention of this award was to highlight the stories of success from a Moto2 Grand Prix other than the race winner, and we are very happy to have been able to do that, counting a total of 17 points-scorers, all of whom have either set fastest top speed, pole position or fastest race lap. Marco has been very consistent all year, and we are very happy to reward him with a Street Triple RS with the first custom Triumph Triple Trophy livery. The Moto2 category is incredibly close and we are very proud to be able to demonstrate how tenths of a second, or tenths of a kilometre per hour, can make the difference.”

Marco Bezzecchi, Sky Racing Team VR46, said: “I am really happy and proud to be the first winner of the Triumph Triple Trophy together with the Sky Racing Team VR46: thanks to the power Triumph had given us we were able to achieved great performances and Top speeds. I made my debut in Moto2 in the same year in which this historic brand became the official engine supplier and therefore my history in this category is closely linked to Triumph. The Street Triple RS is truly a piece of design and a further motivation to finally being able to get the driving license!”

 

#PoweredByTriumph #TriumphOfficial

ENDS           (For further information contact Stefano Campaci on Stefano.Campaci@Triumph.co.uk )

 

Notes to Editors

The Triumph Triple Trophy, #PoweredByTriumph

  • The Triumph Triple Trophy further rewards those standout riders during each Grand Prix weekend, awarding points across three categories: fastest top speed of the weekend, pole position, and fastest race lap. The one rider at the top of each of these categories (or multiple riders in the case of a tie) will be awarded 7, 6 and 5 points respectively at each Grand Prix:
    • Fastest top speed: 7 points for the fastest rider / riders in case of a tie
    • Pole position: 6 points for the rider on pole
    • Fastest race lap: 5 points for the fastest rider / riders in case of a tie
  • Marco Bezzecchi, the 2020 winner, has been awarded a one-off Triumph Triple Trophy-liveried Street Triple RS motorcycle which is powered by the 765cc triple engine from which the Moto2™ powerplant is derived.

 

ABOUT TRIUMPH

  • First established in 1902, Triumph Motorcycles celebrated 118 years of motorcycle manufacture in 2020. For more than three decades, Triumph Motorcycles has been based in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and has produced iconic bikes that perfectly blend authentic design, character, charisma and performance.
  • Building around 60,000 bikes per year, Triumph is the largest British motorcycle manufacturer
    and has around 650 dealers across the world.
  • This focus, innovation and engineering passion has today created a broad range of bikes suited to all motorcycle riders, including the stunning new Trident 660, epic new Tiger 900, world
    leading Rocket R and GT, new higher performance Street Triple 765RS, iconic Scrambler 1200, Speed Triple, transcontinental Tiger 1200, iconic Triumph Bonneville family including the
    sporty Speed Twin, Bonneville Bobber, legendary Thruxton, accessible Street Twin, Street Scrambler and iconic Bonneville T120 and T100, plus an exciting and accessible A2 range
    of Triumph motorcycles.
  • Triumph currently employs around 1,800 personnel worldwide and has subsidiary operations in the UK, North America, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan, Sweden (Scandinavia), Benelux, Brazil, India, China and Thailand as well as a network of independent distributors. Triumph has manufacturing facilities in Hinckley, Leicestershire, and Thailand plus CKD facilities in Brazil and India.
  • The Triumph Bonneville, famously named to celebrate Triumph’s 1956 land speed record on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA, was the original British superbike and a race-winner straight out of the crate, chosen by famous motorcyclists of the past for its legendary handling, style, and character. It’s that handling, character and style, married to modern rider-focused technology that makes the new Bonneville family THE authentic modern classic choice today.
  • Triumph 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 675cc Triumph triple powered 2014 Daytona 200
    win, the 2014 Isle of Man Supersports TT win, the 2014 and 2015 British Supersports titles
    and World SuperSport racing, and again in 2019, with another victory at the Isle of Man Supersports TT, piloted by Peter Hickman.
  • 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 of the teams with race-tuned 765cc triples, each of which is based on the class-leading Street Triple RS powerplant. Triumph’s inaugural year was a record-breaking debut with an amazing 16 circuit lap records and 18 circuit top speeds from 19 races, as well as the first ever +300km/h Moto2™
    top speeds. The Triumph 765cc triple engine has redefined this world championship and it
    is continuing to do so in 2020.