GUillem Farres leads the MX2 World Championship convincingly, Camden McLellan took a brilliant victory in Lommel and is currently in third place. To say that the season is going positively for the Triumph Factory Racing team is an understatement. However, Team Manager Vincent Bereni remains focused on the ultimate goal: the MX2 world title.
Team owner Thierry Chizat-Suzzoni and team manager Vince Bereni have brought their project with Triumph up to full speed after a bittersweet parting of ways with Kawasaki. In the British manufacturer's third World Championship year, they have even become the benchmark.
Farres and McLellan together account for 16 series wins, more than all other series winners combined. With 7 GP wins out of 14, the Triumph factory team accounted for exactly half of all GP victories. The Franco-Dutch-British combination also dominates the constructors' standings.
In other words: the manufacturer from Hinckley is outperforming the competition.p z’n KTM’s. That comparison cannot have escaped Vincent, or Vince as he prefers. The diminutive Frenchman began his GP career as a mechanic for Pascal Leuret. After that, he worked for Red Bull KTM in Europe and JRD Motorsports KTM in the United States, among others. Each step brought new knowledge and more responsibility.
More success followed at Mitch Payton's Pro Circuit Kawasaki before he returned to Europe. After a role at the highly regarded Akira Technology, a partner to a host of teams and numerous industrial projects, he joined forces with Chizat-Suzzoni in late 2014, who had just signed Ryan Villopoto. Suffice it to say: Bereni knows what he is talking about and has seen it all.
For the third time in a row, you had both drivers on the podium. How do you look back on the GP in Lommel?
Vince Bereni: “I am very happy with everything we did this weekend. The team did a brilliant job and both drivers performed strongly, so I couldn't ask for much more. We scored very important points for the World Championship again. Guillem (Farres) extended his lead, Camden (McLellan) closed the gap to second place, and that is a super positive result. But we must keep working hard and stay focused on the championship.”
Last year it was just short of a win for McLellan, who finished second behind Kay de Wolf in the Flemish GP. The consistency he displayed in Lommel spoke volumes about his progress.
Given: “Absolutely. We know Camden’s reputation in the sand, but today he showed that he also had his emotions completely under control and that he stepped up when it mattered. Moreover, the track was particularly tough this weekend. I am very pleased with both drivers. From the first practice on Saturday right through to the qualifying session, they both did a fantastic job. And then to finish first and second as a team in Lommel, that is an incredible result, because you rarely see that.”
From a technical perspective, it stands out how consistently you perform on all types of courts and surfaces.
Given: That’s right. Lommel is always one of the toughest races on the calendar, both for the bike and the riders. We’ve seen that all year, and certainly in the second half of the season. Montevarchi was very demanding, an old-fashioned circuit with extremely little grip, making bike setup particularly important. We didn’t really know what to expect from South Africa beforehand. It was a very fast track, very American in style. Loket is also a very demanding circuit, especially in terms of the chassis. It was hot there, the track offered very little grip, and carrying speed through certain sections was key. I do think we have a very good basic setup, which gives the riders a lot of confidence. And when you finish first and second, or when every rider wins a race, that only underscores how competitive the Triumph TF 250-X is.
Farres shows great maturity and composure in the way he has approached his matches over the past few months.
Given: That is a constant learning process, but of course he has the momentum on his side now. When necessary, he stays calm and rides his own race. You also saw how well he handled the extra pressure of the red leader's plate in Loket. To get this far, everyone has worked incredibly hard and paid a lot of attention to the details, which makes us competitive even in tough conditions. As a group, we are proving that we are genuine title contenders, and it is great to see all that hard work paying off. As a team, we also strive for the right mentality. Guillem is currently leading the championship, but we have been in that position before with Camden, so there is no reason to get carried away. It is nice to have the red leader's plate, but the championship is still long. We need to stay focused, keep working hard, and stay committed.
For Triumph, this level of success is very new. In the first season, you finished fourth in the constructors' championship, last year fourth again, just a few points behind Yamaha. Now you are in the lead.
Given: “We have already set some historic milestones this year: double series wins for both drivers, two men on the podium… That is a great feeling for the team. Everyone behind the scenes deserves credit for that, from the people in the office to the truck drivers. Everyone works hard to achieve these results. And it is also about how we handle setbacks. Both Guillem and Camden show mental strength to bounce back when things get tough. The fact that everyone is consistently performing at a high level naturally creates a lot of momentum for the entire team.”
Tekst: Tom Jacobs
Photos: Ray Archer
