Triumph will be the official engine supplier for the Moto2 class for three years from 2019. And with the start date approaching fairly quickly, they’ve been doing plenty of testing for the race-tuned 765cc Triumph Street Triple powerplant which will be used. And you can now see the Triumph Moto2 Test Bike in action at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 12-15.
The iconic annual hillclimb event attracts a huge number of amazing motorcycles and cars to tackle the course. Along with a host of famous racers and competitors, and big crowds of automotive fans. So to ride the Triumph Moto2 Test Bike, there will be a couple of people you might recognise. The first is the four-time World Superbike champion and I’m a Celebrity winner Carl Fogarty. And the second is two-time Isle of Man TT winner Gary Johnson.
It’s the public debut to see the Triumph Moto2 Test Bike in action. Which means demonstrating how the race specification engine has benefitted from modification to breathe more freely and rev harder than the road version. The changes to the Moto2 engine include a modified cylinder head with revised inlet and exhaust posts, titanium valves and stiffer vale springs, a low output race kit alternator, a taller 1st gear ratio, a tuneable race-developed slipper clutch, a specific race ECU developed with Magneti Marelli, revised engine covers and a different sump.
Paul Lilly, General Manager, Triumph Motorcycles UK & Ireland, said: “We’re excited for people to see the new Moto2 test bike in action for the first time in the UK. This is the latest chapter in Triumph’s long-standing motorsport heritage and to have this bike star alongside the heritage models will be the perfect demonstration of this. We look forward to meeting everyone at the Triumph and National Motorcycle Museum stand across all four days.”
But there’s more.
In addition to the new Triumph Moto2 Tes Bike, Forgarty and Johnson will also be riding a pair of classic racers supplied by the National Motorcycle Museum.
The first of the historic machines will be just one of three experimental 1970 Triumph Works 750cc bikes. And this particularly machine claimed victory in the 24-Hour Bol D’Or endurance race in France that year.
Also heading up the hill at the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed will be the ex-Mike Hailwood and Ray Pickrell 1971 Triumph Works 750cc bike. Honours for this motorcycle include three wins from six races in the Anglo-American Cup. It also competed at Daytona ridden by Mike Hailwood, and finished second in both the F750 Isle of Man TT race and the UK Superbike series.
Some tickets are still available for the 2018 Goodwood Festival of Speed on July 12-15. And there will be plenty to see and do at the 25th Anniversary of the iconic event. Supercars and F1 race cars will be alongside classic and current motorcyles. Or watch freestyle motocross, admire static displays and mingle with racers and their machines in the paddock. Find out more at the Goodwood site. And if you can’t make it and want to see the historic Triumphs alongside a massive collection of more two-wheeled brilliance, the National Motorcycle Museum is located in Solihull in the West Midlands, and you can visit their website, here. Having been lucky enough to visit both over the years, I can say that either makes for a great day out.
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