Posted by PRESS RELEASE
Dynavolt Triumph is delighted to confirm that Kyle Smith will spearhead the factory supported team in the 2021 Quattro Group British Supersport Championship campaign.
Smith is no stranger to the squad, having previously ridden for the team in the FIM Supersport World Championship in 2016, enjoying race wins at Assen & Losail, one third position in Jerez and scoring four fastest race laps over the season. The Spain-based British rider returned to the team for seven races of the twelve-round series in 2018, awarding the team a podium with second position at Portimao.
Moving on from winning the 2019 FIM Europe Supersport Cup, 29-year-old Smith celebrated one pole position and two podiums with GMT94 while deputising for the injured Jules Cluzel in the FIM Supersport World Championship in 2020.
Smith said: “I’m very excited to be back with PTR in a whole new project. It will be exciting to be in a full British set-up racing in the UK where, except for Donington Park, I have never raced even though I’m English. I’m very grateful that Triumph, Simon and the team have counted on me. I think it is a great opportunity and we will have a fantastic year racing”.
Triumph’s Chief Product Officer Steve Sargent said: “I am really pleased to see Kyle racing on a Triumph and of course it is great news that there will be a British rider spearheading the team. Kyle has proven his talent on the World stage and it will be great for the British public and Triumph fans to see him racing in the UK. I am sure that his experience will help us to develop the bike and it will be exciting to see how Kyle and the team progress in the 2021 British Supersport championship.”
Dynavolt Triumph Team Manager Simon Buckmaster said: “For us to re-sign Kyle is exciting news. We’re a British team with a British bike and we’ve come back with a British rider that is well known to us. We felt we needed an experienced rider to lead the development with our team for this exciting new project. Kyle has won races for us, he finished top five in the World Championship, he was the last winner on a Honda and the last podium finisher on a Honda, all for us so there is a lot of synergy between us. We can‘t wait for the season to start with a rider and a team that know each other well to give us the best chance of hitting the ground running and
achieving success from the word go. He hasn’t raced in the British Championship, but there is a great testing programme put forward by MSVR before the season starts and we will make sure he is up to speed on all the tracks and he has got the grit and determination to do a great job for us in 2021. Of course, with his experience we would look to go back into the World Championship with Kyle in 2022.”
As part of a strategy to re-define the Supersport category, Dynavolt Triumph will be a two rider line-up in 2021. The rider who will fill the second slot will be announced in the very near future.
ABOUT TRIUMPH’S RACING HISTORY
· Triumph has a glorious racing history, competing in and winning races in almost every class and field of motorcycle sporting achievement. From winning the second ever Isle of Man TT in 1908, through to 1960s road and track domination in Europe and America, right up to contemporary racing achievements with the 675cc Triumph triple powered 2014 Daytona 200 win, the 2014 Isle of Man Supersports TT win, the 2014 and 2015 British Supersports titles and World SuperSport racing, and again in 2019, with another victory at the Isle of Man Supersports TT, piloted by Peter Hickman.
· Triumph’s racing legend continues as the exclusive engine supplier to the FIM Moto2™ World Championship since the start of the 2019 season. Triumph Motorcycles provides all of the teams with race-tuned 765cc triples, each of which is based on the class-leading Street Triple RS powerplant. Redefining the class and breaking record after record in the inaugural year, including the first ever +300km/h Moto2™ top speed, the 2020 season got even faster with another 11 all time lap records and seven different winners from 15 races.
· Triumph’s racing activities are further bolstered by a return to the British Superbike paddock in 2021 with a factory-supported race team in the British Supersport Championship.