Triumph Celebrates Enduro1 & Junior Vice World Championship Results in Second EnduroGP World Championship Season
In only its second season of competition in the FIM EnduroGP World Championship, Triumph Motorcycles is celebrating remarkable success in the series. Triumph Italia Racing’s Morgan Lesiardo concluded the season as vice-champion in the Enduro1 category, while Triumph Factory Racing’s Leo Joyon finished as vice-champion in the overall Junior category and Junior1 aboard the TF 250-E.
A spectacular season finale in Wales, UK saw Triumph enjoy its home race by finishing the EnduroGP Championship in style, with double Enduro1 podium results on both days of competition. Lesiardo and Triumph Factory Racing’s Jeremy Sydow battled the dry and dusty conditions to take second and third respectively. Lesiardo also took a best EnduroGP result this year with fifth overall on the final day of the season. The 27-year-old Italian finished a strong second term aboard Triumph machinery to become vice world champion in the Enduro1 category.
Like his fellow Triumph racer, Sydow also enjoyed many positives this season. Despite missing the opening round of the series due to injury, the 26-year-old German racer made a strong comeback to earn consistent podium results in the series, ultimately finishing fourth in the final Enduro1 standings. For Triumph, the second year of racing in the world championship showcased the strength of the TF 250-E, with Lesiardo and Sydow taking 22 podiums in total across the seven rounds.
Stepping up into the Triumph Factory Racing team following Mikael Persson’s injury at the start of the season, Leo Joyon has gone from strength to strength. A dominant overall double victory in Wales signed off an impressive year where the Frenchman concluded the season as vice-champion in both the Junior category and Junior1. The 22-year-old took 24 podiums, including 10 wins, this season across the Junior and J1 classes with the TF 250-E.
Overall, Triumph has taken a number of accolades, with the most successful weekend of the season at round four in Portugal, where Triumph mounted racers took 13 podiums across six classes. In the same weekend, Joyon clinched Triumph Factory Racing’s first victory. Triumph has earned an incredible total of 62 podiums across all classes this season.
Morgan Lesiardo, Triumph Italia Racing said: “We just finished the GP here in Wales, and for me it was the best one of the season. Today we took fifth overall in EnduroGP and second in class, while yesterday we could claim the title of vice World Champion, which makes me so proud and the team proud of all the work we did this season.
“Today the goal was to enjoy the riding and to go after a result in the EnduroGP standings, which we also achieved. It has been a really good season so far, we still have one more race in the Italian championship in September, but we are really enjoying everything this year. With the bike we made some improvements from last year and it has really paid off, I really enjoy it a lot. I’d like to say a big thanks to Triumph Italia and all the sponsors, as well as Triumph Racing for the support they give me, we have an unbelievable bike and it has been good to surprise everybody with our success.”
Leo Joyon, Triumph Factory Racing commented: “I am really happy after this weekend. I was riding really well, I felt so good on the bike; the team and the mechanics have done a really good job to give me this package. I finished first in scratch both days, and this was a fantastic way to end the Championship. To take the second place in the standings in scratch and class was not my goal for the season to be honest, but we have to be positive and pleased with the work we have done. I started the season a little bit slowly, but we continued to make improvements, and the results have shown that. Now we go to the French Championship, which will be a great way to finish off the year.”
Jeremy Sydow, Triumph Factory Racing added: “The season has now finished in Wales. Today was positive and I felt good, although some mistakes cost me some time. I have also been a little unwell all weekend, which hasn’t helped. Overall, I am happy with my season; it wasn’t the best start with my injury and missing the first round, but I think I showed what I am capable of. Since Finland I was on the podium every weekend in my class and I think we can be happy with that. The season is over really early, but this gives us a lot of time to prepare for next year where I really hope to continue to improve and see what we can achieve.”
Jonny Walker, Triumph Factory Racing said: “Honestly, I’ve had a mad weekend! Yesterday was so good, and today was even better; the track was super-rough. I’m pretty happy with the results, and it was amazing to see the fans around the track. I could hear them cheering us on as we were going around, and overall it was just a great experience. I enjoyed riding the TF 450-E and it was mega. I hope to come back and do some more races in the future!”
Tom Booth-Amos, PTR Triumph Factory Racing and Triumph Factory Racing added: “The weekend is done here in Wales. I’ve had a great time and I really enjoyed it. It was nice to do something different to what I normally do. It was a bit of a learning curve; today was a little bit better, I felt like I rode better, I kind of understood everything a bit more. I’m actually not that happy with my overall position, I know that I am capable of more, but that’s just the competitor in me. I can’t thank Triumph, Paul [Edmondson] and the team for preparing everything and letting me do it. Let’s see, maybe I can get prepared a little better to do another one and see what result I could get!”
Ian Kimber, Head of Global Racing Programmes, Triumph Motorcycles summarised: “It has been another impressive year for Triumph. We’ve enjoyed results to celebrate in a number of categories, and especially an unforgettable weekend in Portugal when Triumph riders appeared on the podium 13 times. Not only is this a credit to our professional race teams, but also everyone back at the factory working on our off-road project.
“In only our second year of our enduro models being available and racing in the FIM EnduroGP World Championship, we have enjoyed some very special achievements. While there are too many to mention individually, I’d like to say a huge congratulations to the Triumph Italia Racing team and Morgan Lesiardo on becoming vice-champion in Enduro1. Over these past two seasons they have consistently shown how competitive the TF 250-E machine is with some strong results, including a best EnduroGP finish of fifth overall today. Our factory team with Jeremy has also had a solid season, despite missing the first round. It has been impressive to see him come back from injury to clinch a number of podiums and we got a glimpse at what could have been for him. Collectively their results speak volumes as we compete against manufacturers that have been in the championship for decades.
“Leo’s progress in the Junior category has been great to watch as he really gelled with his new bike. He has been able to step up in terms of performance to finish second in the series in Junior and Junior1 and take a dominant double win at the final round, so congratulations to him and the team. Having Jonny Walker and Tom Booth-Amos in Wales just added a different flavour and showcased just what Triumph Factory Racing can bring to both the fans and our athletes to do something different as part of their training schedules. What in exciting way to conclude the season.”
