Five-time Enduro World Champion and Triumph Global Ambassador Iván Cervantes has set a new Guinness Book Record: “The greatest distance traveled individually on a motorcycle in 24 hours.” Cervantes did so on a Tiger 1200 GT Explorer at the Nardo circuit.
On April 30, under the watchful eye of an official Guinness World Records judge, Iván Cervantes successfully attempted to cover the greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours. Individually, that is.
Riding a Tiger 1200 GT Explorer on the oval of the Nardò Technical Center in Italy, Iván covered more than 4,012 km in a 24-hour period, breaking the previous record of 3,406 km by over 600 km.
THE MAN
Iván Cervantes is a 5-time Enduro World Champion, 21-time Spanish Enduro Champion and 5-time Spanish Motocross Champion. In July 2021, Iván was introduced as one of Triumph’s new off-road ambassadors, to help develop the new range of motocross and enduro motorcycles.
Since joining the Triumph team, Iván has enjoyed great success competing on Triumph adventure bikes. With victories in the Baja Aragón, 1000 Dunas Raid and Basella Maxi-Trail Race.
In preparation for the record attempt, in addition to intensive physical training on his own Tiger 1200 Rally Pro, Iván began carefully planning his nutrition and sleep strategy, working with Professor Andrew Bagshaw from the University of Birmingham.
THE ENGINE
The bike used for the attempt was a Tiger 1200 GT Explorer, chosen at random from the production line at Triumph’s factory in Hinckley, England. No special modifications were made to the motorcycle other than completing the recommended running-in and initial maintenance prior to the attempt.
The Tiger 1200 family is designed to be the ultimate adventure touring motorcycle, with exceptional comfort and unsurpassed character. Before the record attempt, features such as the 30-litre fuel tank and excellent wind protection were invaluable in ensuring that Iván could keep riding no matter what challenges he encountered along the way.
Heated grips and seats added comfort during the cold early morning hours and unexpected rain showers, while the powerful three-cylinder T-Plane engine and advanced electronics provided the necessary power and control. The very powerful LED lighting ensured that Iván was always highly visible while driving, even in the complete darkness of the remote testing facility in Nardò.
To underline the Tiger 1200’s outstanding performance and reliability, the only maintenance required on the bike was a single, scheduled tire change mid-attempt, changing the standard Metzeler TOURANCE Next tires as it started to rain and night set in to fall.
THE RECORD
The existing GUINNESS WORLD RECORD of 3,406.17 km was set on February 26, 2017 by American Carl Reese, with an average speed of 141.9 km/h over 24 hours.
Iván continuously drove speeds in excess of 200 km/h at the Nardò Technical Center in Italy, surpassing the existing record with 5 hours left in the 24 hours. Not content with simply beating the record, he set his sights on defining a new benchmark for this challenge – 4,000km.
In the 5 hours that followed, he rode a further 606 km – effectively equaling the existing record and then continuing to drive the equivalent of the width of France.
The record attempt was witnessed by an official GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS judge, who approved the final distance covered in 24 hours as 4,012.53 km, with an average speed of 167.79 km/h.
KEY POINTS
• Duration of the attempt: 24 hours
• Total distance covered: 4,012.53 km
• Location: High Speed Ring, Nardò Technical Center, Italy
• Length of one lap: 12,649km
• Number of rounds: 317
• Driving speed: More than 200km/h
• Average speed over 24 hours: 167.79km/h
• Number of pit stops: 18
• Liters of gasoline used: 520
• Number of tire changes: 1
• Hours slept: 0
Ivan Cervantes:
“The Tiger 1200 GT Explorer was the perfect bike for this record attempt. It is very comfortable to drive for a long time. The hardest part was definitely the weather – as it started to rain. But this bike has a very large windshield and offers excellent protection, which helped me a lot. This is a very special motorcycle to me. It’s not easy to ride 24 hours in a row, but in the end I got the record with this great bike!”
Nick Bloor, CEO Triumph Motorcycles:
“Iván’s achievement to capture the Guinness World Records record on the Tiger 1200 is simply incredible! His determination and perseverance not only led him to beat the existing record, but also to surpass the distance covered in 24 hours by almost 20%. An extraordinary achievement, which everyone at Triumph has supported with incredible pride.”
– Thanks for information from Motorfreaks.