Triumph has enhanced the performance of the engine it supplies as the spec unit for Moto2, which supports MotoGP as a rider development series. This is the 765 cc triple that the company uses for a number of its road bikes and which is prepared for the Moto2 field by Spanish company ExternPro. It replaced a Honda spec engine for 2019 and clocked up more than a million miles over the last four seasons with no significant reliability issues.

The Triumph triple was chosen as being compact, weighing around 50 kg, having electronic control including fly-by-wire throttles and producing over 130 bhp in lightly tuned guise. The Moto2 unit uses primarily stock components albeit with porting and camshaft development for track use. Riders can adjust the mapping but the likes of traction and wheelie control are not permitted.

New for 2023 is higher rpm - up from 14,000 to 14,400 - with additional output. Moto2 reports, “more power and higher engine speed required stronger engine components, so pistons have a higher-grade material and rods, crank, valves and valve springs are all new. Higher flow inlet ports and revised cam profiles enable an increased mixture flow into the combustion chambers and cylinder pressure and compression have been increased.”

Winner of the opening 2023 Moto2 race in Portugal at the end of March, Pedro Acosta, remarked “we have 400 more revs so we are faster on the track and the engine is smoother when we accelerate." Winner of round two in Argentina, Tony Arbolino, added, “You feel [the improvement] in fifth and sixth gear [especially], you feel the higher rpm, more power, more speed; you’re able to change gear in higher rpm and this is the most interesting thing."

Steve Sargent, Triumph’s Chief Product Officer observed: “it’s great that the rider feedback is so positive. We’re also happy to see how this extra power and revs helps make the racing even closer, aiding slipstreaming and giving the riders greater options for overtaking.”