TRIUMPH GOES BAJA RACING
It has been quite some time since Triumph
Motorcycles took on any real form of off-
road racing, but with a brand new (and
highly capable for that matter) Scrambler
in the range, the brand has set its sights
on heading to one of the original off-road
cross country races - the Norra Mexican
1000 race with stunt rider and off-road
racer Ernie Vigil behind the bars.
Vigil is no stranger to the Triumph brand,
being a factory-backed rider, and has
already taken a Triumph on the gruelling
race through the Mexican desert - that
being a Tiger 800.
“After 9 months of training, injury and
over 6000 off-road miles in the saddle I’m
excited to be getting to the final stage of
prep for one of the most challenging off-
road races you can do, Vigil commented.
“I literally can’t wait to get to that starting
line and fire the Scrambler up! The bike
has been performing amazingly well and
I’m raring to go.”
14 KIWI RIDER
The particular Scrambler 1200 XE which
Vigil will take to the desert on has been
left in near-standard condition by Triumph
and has only had minor alterations with a
desert racing specific seat, lights, grips and
extreme profile sand tyres replacing the
standard items.
Topping off the race-spec parts, the
Triumph also features a unique off-road
racing scheme with Triumph’s signature
Black and White paint and graphics which
we hope will become an option for later
Scrambler 1200s.
The Mexican 1000 is raced along the same
course as the infamous Baja 1000 off-road
race and is a crazier version of the Dakar
rally, with motorcyclists taking on the rocky
desert, tackling quicksand, unpredictable
1000bhp racing trucks in addition to the
fierce elements.
We’ll be looking forward to seeing how the
big Scrambler 1200 fares in a race more
often taken to with 450cc enduro bikes.