On December 13, 2022, Triumph formally announced that it will enter the AMA Supermotocross World Championship, beginning with the 2024 season. The team will operate under the new Triumph Racing banner, and will be led by Bobby Hewitt as team principal as well as Stephan ‘Scuba’ Westfall as team manager.
This project has been in the making for some time now, and naturally Triumph also consulted with Ricky Carmichael, its Global Off-Road Ambassador, as it considered how best to approach its racing strategy. The new team will be located at its own dedicated facility in the U.S., which Triumph says will be state-of-the-art.
A natural progression is baked into the evolution of Triumph Racing’s plans, right from the start. Beginning in 2024, the plan starts with brand-new, four-stroke, 250cc Triumph motocross machines racing for the Triumph Racing Factory Team. From 2025, its even newer 450cc machines will join the party. Both of these Triumph motocross bikes are still currently in development, and no details of either machine are available to the public just yet.
Rounding out Triumph Racing’s AMA SuperMotocross team lineup, AMA Hall of Fame member Dave Arnold will join as lead chassis engineer. Additionally, Triumph has secured the services of incredibly experienced engineer Dudley Cramond, in his new capacity as lead powertrain engineer.
That makes a total of two Triumph Racing bases, one in the U.K. and one in the U.S., which will begin operating within their respective motocross championships in 2024. Both teams will collaborate with and be backed by the Triumph Factory in Hinckley. Additionally, both teams are participating in the testing and development of Triumph’s new motocross bikes—details of which, the OEM says, will be made available “in the near future.”
"I always knew I would eventually get back into racing but to be able to do it with an iconic brand like Triumph, and to be able to help build this US Triumph Racing team from the ground up is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” Triumph Racing Supercross and Motocross team principal Bobby Hewitt said in a statement.
“Triumph Motorcycles have been a part of my family growing up, and to have them now decide to enter into professional off-road racing is a tremendous opportunity for our sport and a testament to the growth of the motorcycle industry overall in America. I am also very fortunate to be able to work with Scuba (Steve Westfall) again and add the experience of Dave (Dave Arnold) and Dudley (Dudley Cramond) to our team. I am honored to be working alongside everyone at the factory in Hinckley and cannot wait to get back to the racetrack in 2024 with our new team and compete for an SMX World Championship,” he added.
