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[[{“value”:”Triumph and Ducati are both moving their off-road programs forward at a brisk clip after basically ignoring the dirt bike scene for generations.
Just this past week, Triumph’s 250 motocrosser bagged its first AMA Pro Motocross podium, with a sixth and fourth at the Unadilla track. That was good enough to put rider Jalek Swoll into third on the podium for the AMA Motocross weekend.
“It is so special to get a podium for the Triumph Racing team. It is brilliant to reward those guys with a podium,” Swoll said after the race. “Everyone has been working so hard and that makes a difference!”
No doubt the team would have been a lot more happy with a first, but AMA racing is no walk in the park. Swoll currently sits eighth overall in the summer outdoors series. Considering this is their first dirt machine in decades, and the fact they’ve put months of R&D followed by aggressive promotion into this bike, they are probably happy to be top-10—but expect Triumph’s factory team to work hard for better results next season.
Meanwhile, over in Ducati world: Journos from Brit mag MCN had the chance to sit down with insiders from Ducati’s dirt bike program while the revelry of World Ducati Week was on last month. Two particularly juicy pieces of news came out of that.
First, Tony Cairoli, Ducati’s tame motocross racer, said Ducati is going to have a 250 platform soon. Considering the success their 450 has seen in Italian MX racing so far this year, it will be interesting to see if their quarter-liter version can match.
But more interestingly, Cairoli said that Ducati is working on a 450 enduro bike that will also be street-legal. Obviously, it will be based off the 450 motocross bike, and it sounds like it will be similar to KTM’s EXC-F series. Expect a dirt bike with lights, not a more beefy dual sport like the DR-Z400.
The post Dueling Dirt Bikes: First Podium For Triumph, Ducati Confirms 250, Dual Sport Plan appeared first on Adventure Rider.”}]]
