A new ruleset introduced for 2022 in the FIM Supersport World Championship has opened up the Championship to more bikes, with British manufacturer Triumph one of two new brands for 2022. Returning with the Street Triple RS machine, Dynavolt Triumph, run by Simon Buckmaster’s PTR squad, will look to challenge at the front as soon as possible with riders Hannes Soomer and Stefano Manzi.
Triumph have taken part in 282 races in WorldSSP to date with their last race in 2018, claiming seven podiums in that time all of which were third-place finishes. Four of them were secured by Chaz Davies in 2010 while their last podium came in 2012 with Alex Baldolini. Returning to the Championship with a three-cylinder 765cc engine, used in Moto2™, Triumph will be hoping to quickly add to their podium count and push on for their first victory in WorldSSP.
Although the bike will appear in WorldSSP for the first time, the team competed in the British Supersport championship in 2021 with the Street Triple RS with Kyle Smith, Brandon Paasch and Danny Webb; Smith and Paasch both claimed top-ten finishes in the standings to show the potential of the bike on the national stage. With a year of running the bike, and riders Soomer and Manzi on board, Team Manager Simon Buckmaster has high hopes for Triumph’s return to the world stage.
Buckmaster said: “I can say I expect that we will fight at the front from round one. We’ve already run it for a year, the engine is like Moto2™ so the engine we know is no problem and we ran it all last year in Supersport-spec in Britain. We have really good riders. There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn’t fight at the front from the word go.”
Buckmaster also discussed the team’s rider line-up for 2022 with Soomer bringing plenty of WorldSSP experience having made his debut in the Championship in 2015 but has only ever ridden Yamaha or Honda machinery, while Manzi will make his first-season campaign in WorldSSP but raced with the Triumph-powered 765cc Moto2™ machine for the past three seasons.
He said: “I’ve been in WorldSSP for many years and, for both riders, it’s the best rider line-up we’ve had since we had Sam Lowes and Jules Cluzel. There are two riders there who are capable of fighting at the front. I believe, this year, that the competition is going to be so tight, so strong, that you could probably ride a good race and finish seventh. There are some very good riders already here, like Cluzel who’s been here for many years and very good, and obviously Aegerter won the World Championship last year, but those coming in like Baldassarri, Manzi, Bulega… the level will be high, it will be hard. There’s a lot of good riders on good bikes. To win will be tough but that makes it even more appealing for the achievement.”
Estonian rider Soomer has three podiums to his name in WorldSSP and will be hoping to add to this tally as he embarks on a new adventure with a new manufacturer in WorldSSP. During the Supported Test at MotorLand Aragon, where Triumph have shown strong pace, Soomer explained his expectations for the new campaign after being the sole rider to test for the team in preseason.
He said: “It’s a special bike. It’s very different to what I’m used to because I’ve ridden only four-cylinder bikes before. The first laps were a shock. I think it has potential. The team is good, the bike has potential, we will be there in the end. I don’t know when, but we will be there. I haven’t had too much time to compare to the other bikes that are really going full throttle. What I’ve seen is okay. We are more or less similar. I saw MV in the morning, in the test we were with Yamaha. It’s more or less okay. Every bike has its own special parts, every bike has its own strong parts and weak parts and I think that is what makes it interesting this year.”
Manzi got his first taste of the Street Triple RS machine for the first time at the Aragon Test after he was injured in training but will bring experience of the engine to the team having competed in Moto2™ which uses the Triumph 765cc engine. Explaining how this could help him in 2022, Manzi said: “I feel good on the bike. The engine is the same as Moto2™ that I rode for the last three years. The feeling is a little bit different but, in general, it’s the same. The chassis is not bad. For sure, it’s more helpful than to ride a different engine but it’s a little bit different in terms of riding style. I am happy about that.”