Press Release | August 22, 2018
Moto2 riders visit the Triumph factory for the unveiling of the final engine prototype bike
This is a press release from Triumph Motorcycles…
On August 22, the first showcase activity that celebrates the British Grand Prix MotoGP race weekend and Triumph’s return to top flight motorcycle racing from the 2019 season onward began with a factory visit by seven Moto2 star riders from the current championship.
Luca Marini (ITA-Sky Racing Team VR46), Sam Lowes (GBR-Swiss Innovative Investors), Danny Kent (GBR-+Ego Speed Up Racing Team), Isaac Viñales (SPA-Forward Racing Team), Bo Bendsneyder (NED-Tech 3 Racing Team) and Joe Roberts (USA-NTS RW Racing GP), together with British Moto3 rider John McPhee (CIP – Green Power) will take a tour of Triumph’s main factory, see a historic line up of the most famous Triumph race bikes in history and unveil the final Triumph Moto2 engine development bike, which will be showcased on track just before the Moto2 race at the British Grand Prix.
HISTORIC PARADE LAP
Historic parade lap of Triumph’s Moto2 final engine prototype just before the Moto2 race
Just before the Moto2 race on Sunday 26th August at the Silverstone British Grand Prix former multiple World Superbike Champion and BT Sport MotoGP commentator James Toseland will ride Triumph’s final engine prototype bike, with eye-catching Union Jack scheme, in a historic parade lap in front of thousands of fans.
This marks a significant moment in Triumph’s racing history with the new 765cc Triple Moto2 race engine taking to the track at a Grand Prix weekend for the very first time.
ENGINE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE
Presenting the final engine for the Moto2 2019 season onwards:
• Engine development phase complete following rigorous testing
• Performance targets delivered and the engine prepared for racing
• Final phase of ECU set-up and chassis refinement on target.
On June 19, 2018, Triumph’s powerful new Moto2 Triple 765cc engines were matched with Magneti Marelli super-customizable ECUs and some of the key chassis manufacturers’ prototype race setups for the very first time, with results well on track for the 2019 racing season.
During the test, three of the chassis manufacturer teams (Kalex, KTM and NTS ) ran the Triumph 765cc Moto2 engine for the first time on track in their prototype 2019 frames, pushing the 765cc powerplant under near-race conditions.
Trevor Morris, from Externpro said: “This test was the first time everything was in place to see what the whole new package could do, and the results have been incredibly positive. This shows just how big a change is coming, and that’s exactly where we wanted to be.”
Steve Sargent, Triumph’s Chief Product Officer said: “We are very pleased with the progress to date and impressed with the level of passion and effort from the chassis teams, the riders, the ECU team Magneti Marelli, Exernpro, and Dorna in developing the new generation of Moto2 motorcycles.”
“The ECU gives the teams a lot of choice to make changes with ignition, fuelling, engine braking, electronic throttle maps, quickshifter adjustments and pit lane speed limiters. Next year will be much closer to MotoGP levels of technology than Moto2 has ever been. The class is going to become even more interesting, with exciting racing and even more competition between team engineers to develop the best-performing package.”
TRIUMPH 2019 765cc MOTO2 ENGINE PARTNERSHIP
With a three-year contract with Dorna – the commercial rights holder of MotoGP – Triumph are to supply a dedicated race tuned 765cc Triumph Triple engine, based on the powerplant from the 2017 Triumph Street Triple.
The new engine is a significant development of the race-winning Daytona 675R powerplant that has powered Supersports wins at the Isle of Man TT, Daytona 200 and British Supersports Championships in 2014 and 2015.
Based on the highest specification 765cc powerplant from the Street Triple RS, the Triumph Moto2 Triple race engine has been developed and tuned for a major step up in power and torque with the following modifications;:
• Modified cylinder head with revised inlet and exhaust ports for optimized gas flow
• Titanium valves and stiffer valve springs for increased rpm
• Low output race kit alternator for reduced inertia
• Taller 1st gear ratio
• Race developed slipper clutch which will be tuneable
• Specific race ECU; which will be developed with Magneti Marelli
• Revised engine covers for reduced width
• Different sump to allow for improved header run.
The race specification Triumph 765cc Moto2 engine has been developed further to allow the engine to breathe more freely and rev harder than the production bike to increase overall performance. Other changes have been made specifically to adapt the engine for race use.