When people think of rally raid motorcycle brands, those that likely come to mind include KTM and Honda. Triumph and Harley-Davidson, on the other hand, are both renowned for their roadgoing bikes while any motorsport efforts by the companies tend to be on pavement such as FIM Moto2 and MotoAmerica, respectively.
This past weekend marked a step in a slightly different direction as they fielded entries in the Baja España Aragón, a two-day rally raid in Spain. Competing in the new Trail (600–950cc) and Maxi-Trail (over 950cc) categories for production bikes, both finished the course without any major problems, which should provide their off-road programmes with a massive confidence boost in future endeavours.
Triumph fielded the Tiger 900 for Iván Cervantes, a four-time FIM World Enduro Champion for KTM. Despite retiring from competition after the 2018 Dakar Rally, he joined Triumph in 2021 as a brand ambassador for British make’s new off-road line alongside motocross legend Ricky Carmichael. While Carmichael helped Triumph build their first motocross bike since the 1974 TR5MX Avenger, Cervantes assisted the enduro side. Although Triumph bikes have been used in rally raid and desert events like the NORRA Mexican 1000, the company never provided a factory-backed effort in the discipline until Cervantes’ arrival.
Cervantes completed the course with a total time of 6:13:32 to win the Trail class. Runner-up Angel Bellmunt, who was on a Yamaha Tenere T7, was over an hour back at 7:19:57.
“We came to the Baja Aragón with a clear goal, which was to win the new Trail category on the Tiger 900 Rally Pro. However, our greater ambition was to finish as high as possible in the overall rankings, where people have been amazed at the pace we have taken with the Trail,” said Cervantes. “We are proud to have done a great job, and I believe we have given everyone a lot to talk about. This once again proves that Triumph is here in off-road racing, and is here to stay. We chose this race because in the future we plan to come here with the Enduro project, and of course we plan to succeed.
“I am very happy to return to Baja Aragón after so many years and to return home as the category champion with Triumph.”
Harley-Davidson, a brand long synonymous with American motorcycle culture and biker gangs, supplied a Pan America 1250 for Dakar veteran Joan Pedrero. H-D has a decorated motorsport history that dates back over a century to pre-World War I motorcycle racing, and the company’s current escapades come in MotoAmerica’s King of the Baggers; H-D won the latter’s 2021 championship with Kyle Wyman. The American manufacturer has also seen success in American Flat Track and NHRA, winning a combined eleven championships in both, before ending their factory programmes after 2020.
While their off-road résumé is limited by comparison, H-D is no stranger to victory there either. In 1975, future twelve-time Baja 500 champion Larry Roeseler won his first on a Harley-Davidson SX-250. Thirty-three years later, Scott Whitney and Joe Desrosiers became the first sidecar riders to complete the full Baja 1000, doing so on a Harley-Davidson V-Rod.
Pedrero was the lone listed Maxi-Trail competitor and set a time of 7:42:50.
“Challenge completed! Last weekend at the XXVII edition of the classic Baja Aragón, the Pan America 1250 completely standard and piloted by the great elite professional, Joan Pedrero, achieved the great challenge of finishing the race, thus being crowned in the new Maxi-Trail category,” reads a social media post from Harley-Davidson España. “It has been forty-eight hours full of adversity, adrenaline and many emotions, proving that the Pan America 1250 is made for adventure, and ready to compete in the toughest conditions. Bravo, Joan!”
