Triumph riding high after Misano: first win of the season at Donington Park?

Phillip Island and Portimão were a disaster for Tom Booth-Amos, but since Assen his results have become more consistent and, above all, better. His first win of the season is getting closer and closer – after finishing fourth in the first race, the star rider took second place on the podium in the second race at the Misano World Circuit – only World Championship leader Albert Arenas (Yamaha) was faster.

“I’d already said that after Aragón: this is how the rest of the season will be, or at least how it should be,” the Englishman emphasised with a smile to SPEEDWEEK.com editor-in-chief Ivo Schützbach. “Starting third on the front row naturally made things a bit easier for me. When you’re only seventh, it’s so much harder because of the different set-ups of the bikes. Our bike has a high top speed, but we lack torque. I have to push it to the limit on every overtaking manoeuvre. But when I can ride my line unpressured, the Triumph works exceptionally well.”

Before Misano, the balance system was adjusted, and not to Triumph’s advantage. The complex procedure is almost impossible for outsiders to understand and is not communicated publicly.

“Yes, they’ve neutered us even more,” the 30-year-old snapped. “I didn’t know anything about it, but right from free practice it felt as though I was misfiring – that’s when they told me. So when I open the throttle fully, the system can’t keep up and cuts back even more than it already does. It certainly didn’t help us. In my opinion, they’d be better off reducing our revs than cutting the torque.”

If the balance of power remains the same until the end of the season, what position in the overall standings does Booth-Amos consider realistic? After Misano, the Triumph rider is sixth in the World Championship with 115 points.

“Hard to say. I think fourth in the World Championship is possible – just like in 2025,” mused Booth-Amos. “The top three are too strong for us: Masia is really good and he’s 50 points ahead of me, which is almost impossible to make up. But if things carry on as they have recently and I continue to feel this good, then maybe. And let’s not forget: next up is my home race at Donington, where I’m always strong!”