Iván Cervantes, 5x Enduro World Champion and Triumph Global Ambassador has officially claimed the Guinness World Records title for ‘The greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours (individual)’.
Riding a Tiger 1200 GT Explorer on the High-Speed Ring at the Nardò Technical Center in Italy, Iván traveled more than 4012 kilometers in a 24-hour period, beating the previous record of 3406km by a huge margin of more than 600km.
The record attempt was witnessed and validated by a Guinness World Records adjudicator on April 30, 2023, with a final confirmed distance of 4012.53km – a distance equivalent to traveling from London to the Great Pyramid of Giza in 24 hours!
The rider
Iván Cervantes is a 5x Enduro World Champion, 21 times Spanish Enduro Champion, and 5x Spanish Motocross Champion. In July 2021, Iván was announced as one of Triumph’s new Off-Road ambassadors, helping to develop the upcoming range of motocross and enduro bikes.
Since joining the Triumph team, Iván has seen great success in riding and competing on Triumph adventure motorcycles, sealing wins at the Baja Aragón, 1000 Dunas Raid, and Basella Maxi-Trail Race.
“The Tiger 1200 GT Explorer was the perfect bike for this attempt. It’s very comfortable to ride for a long time. For sure, the hardest part was the weather, because it started to rain, but this bike has a very big screen and excellent protection, which helped me a lot. It is a very special bike for me. It’s not easy to ride for 24 hours in a row but, in the end, the record is mine with this amazing bike!” says Cervantes.
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, in partnership with Professor Andrew Bagshaw at the University of Birmingham.
The bike
The motorcycle used for the attempt was a Tiger 1200 GT Explorer, chosen at random from the production line at Triumph’s factory in Hinckley, UK. No special modifications were made to the bike, other than completing the recommended running-in and first service schedule before the attempt was undertaken.
The Tiger 1200 family has been designed to deliver the ultimate in adventure bike touring capability, with exceptional comfort and unbeatable character. For the record attempt, features such as the 30-liter fuel tank and excellent wind protection were invaluable in ensuring Iván could continue riding, whatever challenges he encountered along the way.
Heated grips and seats provided additional comfort during the cold early-morning hours and unexpected downpours of rain, while the powerful T-Plane triple engine and advanced electronics provided effortless power and control. High-intensity LED lights ensured Iván always had exceptional visibility when riding, even in the complete darkness of the remote testing facility at Nardò.
Underlining the excellent performance and reliability of the Tiger 1200, the only maintenance required on the bike was a single, planned tire change halfway through the attempt, where the standard fit Metzeler Tourance Next tires were refreshed as the rain started and night began to fall.
The Guinness Record
The existing Guinness World Records title of 3406.17km was achieved by American Carl Reese on February 2017, recording an average speed over 24 hours of 141.9 km/h. Riding consistently at speeds of over 200 km/h at the Nardò Technical Center in Italy, Iván surpassed the existing record with an incredible 5 hours to spare in the 24-hour window.
Not content to simply beat the record, he set his sights on defining a new benchmark for this challenge – 4000 kilometers. In the 5 hours that followed, he proceeded to ride a further 606 kilometers – essentially matching the existing record and then continued to ride further. To put it in Pinoy perspective, that additional 606 kilometers is like traveling from Luneta, Manila, all the way to Claveria, in Cagayan Valley in just 5 hours.
The record attempt was witnessed by an official Guinness World Records adjudicator, who validated the final distance traveled in 24 hours as 4012.53 kilometers, with an average speed of 167.79 km/h.
“Iván’s achievement in taking the Guinness World Records title on the Tiger 1200 is simply incredible! His determination and perseverance have led him not only to beat the existing record but to add almost 20% to the distance traveled in 24 hours. An outstanding effort, and one that everyone at Triumph is incredibly proud to have supported,” says Triumph Motorcycles CEO, Nick Bloor.
Keyword: Rider sets new Guinness record onboard a Triumph Tiger 1200