Triumph Racing depends on strategic partners around the world as the manufacturer attempts to blaze a path in off-road sport. There is no brand quite as prolific as Dunlop, who can celebrate 100 years of podium appearances, and so the decision to lean on that expertise was an obvious one for the powers that be.

Dunlop needs little introduction. In fact, it was just last year that Dunlop swept all of the titles within the SuperMotocross World Championship and celebrated their most successful term in the FIM Motocross World Championship. "Dunlop has a wealth of experience in racing and specifically off-road," reflected Ian Kimber (Head of Global Racing Programmes, Triumph Motorcycles) on that vast knowledge possessed by the brand. "They are so very pivotal in the performance of the race bike and, ultimately, the success of our teams."

The conditions that Triumph encountered in 2024 Monster Energy Supercross, as well as the first half of the 2024 FIM Motocross World Championship, underlined the impact of that information that Dunlop has compiled since 1920. It was back in 1920 that Dunlop first emphasised their intention in the sector with exhaustive measures to further the limits of a motorcycle tyre. Now, more than a century later, the brand continues to push forward with countless innovations, like the Geomax line that the athletes and weekend warriors alike clammer over.

Despite such a decorated resumé in off-road competition, the work is never done. "It's never done and that is what is so brilliant about Dunlop's program," explained Broc Glover (Senior Manager, Off-Road Motorcycles at Dunlop North America). "We are driven by an aspiration to be better and to produce the best possible product. Our race teams’ decisions to partner with Dunlop are not financial, as we do not compensate them in any manner – other than providing them with product – but many teams favour Dunlop’s continued commitment to push forward and improve the technology, as they do with their bikes.

"Our teams, like Triumph Racing, want to make the motorcycle better and we want to make Dunlop tyres better," Glover continued to ponder. "There is not a perfect tyre – at least not one that we have found yet – so we are always trying to improve. It is that attitude that keeps us ahead of the competition in the sector. We never sit back and rest on our laurels. We are always pushing forward and that is why it is absolutely valuable for Dunlop to be working with Triumph Racing in both the United States and Grands Prix – it was certainly a relationship we wanted to see come to fruition."

The new partnership between Dunlop and Triumph Racing is a worldwide affair and that speaks to the commitment from both parties. Triumph Racing is one of the few manufacturers to embrace Dunlop on both sides of the Atlantic and that has proven to be so advantageous to all involved. "Having global partners like Dunlop means that we have the ability to share knowledge learnt between our teams easier," Kimber shared. "It allows lessons learnt in MX2 to be transferred into the United States ahead of the Pro Motocross season and vice versa in pre-season testing.

"If the teams were working with two different manufacturers, this would be impossible. This will become especially crucial if our riders get selected for the Motocross of Nations, as athletes based in the United States will be able to use the knowledge that the MX2 team has of tyre performance on European dirt." Mikkel Haarup and Camden McLellan celebrated some immediate success with their TF 250-X and climbed on the podium with the iconic Dunlop cap in tow. "We really did some good work together to be immediately successful," said Wim Van Achter (Motorcycle Motorsport Manager at Dunlop EMEA).

"A new brand in the motocross space was highly welcomed," he continued. "It's really exciting for Dunlop and, of course, Triumph. Dunlop's global relationship with Triumph is very strong – both are iconic brands that have now joined forces in this motocross effort. We develop tyres together with ample input from our factory teams and the goal is to make a better product that is available to all of the motocross and enduro riders around the world.”

"In the U.S., we have a semi-truck and that delivers our tyres to the premier AMA events," Glover explained with glee. "We also do sales and marketing activations at approximately half the AMA Supercross rounds – it is a consumer-focused vehicle that really targets the core spectator and motorcycle enthusiasts. From a technical perspective, we have staff fitters that have been contracted by Dunlop for many years and have become familiar and trusted faces inside of the AMA Pro paddock. Such a high number of elite race teams use Dunlop and so our paddock area is a true hive of activity. For example, at the 2024 Monster Energy Supercross finale in Salt Lake City, all 22 riders in the 250SX East/West Showdown used Dunlop. We had all of them!"

Watching 44 Dunlop tyres race around the Rice Eccles Stadium was, understandably, an utterly brilliant experience for Glover. There was one bike that stood out though, just as he went on to describe.

"It is clear that Triumph did their homework and impressed in their very first supercross race in Detroit. However, in my opinion, it was at the Philadelphia Supercross that Triumph had their coming-out party where Jalek had a heat race win and was solidly in contention for a spot on the podium in the main event. You could tell that he was going for it – he had the speed and steed to do it before his late race mishap! Then of course, Jalek finished on the podium at the recent Unadilla National, which was just amazing."

Triumph Racing will continue to deliver for Dunlop, a brand that has seen it all in the various disciplines and become an undoubted source of comfort for weekend warriors around the world. Success of that level does not just 'happen' and the results of that trial-and-error process will be the springboard for TF 250-X riders for years to come. Remember, as Kimber poetically put it, "tyre development is so bespoke to individual motorcycles, to extract the ultimate performance, and so working with a company like Dunlop to keep the bike at the front of the pack is critical."

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