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ADV NewsTriumph Grabs Impressive Finish At Baja Aragon Rally On Tiger 900

Triumph Grabs Impressive Finish At Baja Aragon Rally On Tiger 900

Enduro champ Ivan Cervantes dominates on the British brand's adventure bike.

Published on 07.29.2022

Real world adventure bikes — the kind we can kick the knobby tires of at our local dealership — have been turning heads and making history lately in the super competitive arenas of International Enduro and Rally Racing.

The latest feat? Five-time Enduro World Champion Ivan Cervantes not only won his category at the 2022 Baja España Aragon on a Triumph Tiger 900 Rally Pro, but gave his World Cup riding buddies on their 450cc race bikes a run for their money. 

Triumph Tiger 900 wins at Baja Aragon Rally
Ivan Cervantes snatched the win in the Trail category on the Tiger 900 and finished in 12th position overall against a field that included elite riders on purpose built, Dakar spec’d racing motorcycles.

With an overall time of 6 hours, 13 minutes and 32 seconds, Ivan finished first in the Trail (600-950cc) class and by a whopping 1 hour and 6 minutes ahead of the next finisher, Angel Bellmunt, who was riding a Yamaha T7. The Trail class raced at the Aragon for 2 of the FIM Bajas World Cup event’s 3 days, and when Ivan’s race was over, he was in an awe-inspiring 12th position overall — just 33 minutes and 50 seconds behind the leader in a field of 75 competitors which included elite riders on purpose built, Dakar spec’d race bikes. 

Triumph Tiger 900 wins at Baja Aragon Rally

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This was exactly what Ivan and Triumph set out to accomplish at the race in Teruel, Spain. To win the adventure bike class and place as high as possible in the overall standings, sure, but also to get people talking about Triumph as it moves to restore its reputation as a competitive off-road racing brand, a shift that includes plans to offer a comprehensive line of motocross and enduro bikes being developed with the help of Ivan and motocross legend, Ricky Carmichael. 

“We are proud to have done a great job, and I believe we have given everyone a lot to talk about,” Ivan said of the win at Aragon. “We chose this race because in the future we plan to come here with the Enduro project, and of course we plan to succeed!”

Ivan was also victorious on the Triumph at the Bassella Enduro Race earlier this year, winning its Maxi Trail category. His Rally Pro’s Showa suspension has been professionally tuned by Andreani MHS, but otherwise the bike appears stock, save for a custom livery and bash plate. 

As we reported ahead of the race, Harley-Davidson had also entered the Baja Aragon with Dakar vet Joan Pedrero riding a bone stock Pan America 1250. Because of its size, the Harley was relegated to the event’s Maxi Trail category for bikes over 950cc. The surprise here isn’t that Joan handily won the category since he was its sole entrant, but his overall time of 7 hours, 42 minutes and 50 seconds would have landed him in 3rd place behind Ivan and Angel Bellmunt in the Trail class.  

Really though, Joan deserves major respect for getting Harley’s 560-pound adventure bike through the Aragon’s challenging high-desert course and we can’t wait to see what’s next for the surprise hit dark horse.  

There is absolutely no doubt that enduro and rally racing events are the new proving grounds for production adventure bikes. Just look at what Pol Tarres (sadly down for the count after suffering a shoulder injury at Red Bull Romaniacs) has accomplished at events like Erzbergrodeo on the Yamaha T7. And just last month Dakar vet Xavier de Soultrait entered his personal KTM 690 R in the 3-day Trefle Lozerien Enduro and did so well he’s now hooked and headed for the Transanatolia Rally and Africa Eco Race.

Pretty cool stuff, considering these are bikes many of us already have in our garages. The physical prowess and skill of the elite pro riders who get those adventure bikes across the finish line…now that is a little harder to come by. 

Author: Jamie Elvidge

Jamie has been a motorcycle journalist for more than 30 years, testing the entire range of bikes for the major print magazines and specializing in adventure-travel related stories. To date she’s written and supplied photography for articles describing what it’s like to ride in all 50 states and 43 foreign countries, receiving two Lowell Thomas Society of American Travel Writer’s Awards along the way. Her most-challenging adventure yet has been riding in the 2018 GS Trophy in Mongolia as Team AusAmerica’s embedded journalist.

Author: Jamie Elvidge
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Dave
Dave
July 29, 2022 4:50 pm

Is any wonder with a fast bike and a agile physical fit fast rider to make a winning combination. Kinda like the only thoroughbred in a list of quarter horses on the roster for the Kentucky Derby !

Curtis W Jenkins
Curtis W Jenkins
August 3, 2022 6:23 pm

Hi Jamie … this is Curtis Jenkins here … I don’t know if you remember me, from the middleweight bike comparison of Motorcycle Cruiser back in the August of 2001 … I hope that you are well and that everything is going great for you and your daughter … this is a great article … I always love reading your stories … I thought about you when I saw a Valkyrie for sale on Craigslist – I know how much you love those bikes … I would love to hear from you, if you are so inclined … please take the best care of yourself Jamie!

trackback
Isle of Man Champ Takes On 24-Hour Off-Road Trial On Tiger 1200
October 21, 2022 10:01 am

[…] in recent headlines, grabbing impressive finishes in both Spain’s Bassella Enduro Race and Baja Aragon Rally with enduro champ Ivan Cervantes at the helm. Now it’s time for Triumph’s all-new flagship […]

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