Triumph’s entry into the MX2 World Championship in 2024 marked a bold new chapter for the iconic British manufacturer — and behind the scenes, team manager Vince Bereni has been steering the ship through the highs, the challenges, and everything in between. With Mikkel Haarup delivering the team’s first-ever podium at round one and Camden McLellan steadily progressing before injury stalled his momentum, Triumph’s debut season was full of learning moments and breakthrough performances.
Fast forward to 2025, and with Guillem Farres now partnering McLellan, Triumph has already racked up moto wins and podiums — a clear sign that the team is continuing to close the gap on MX2’s elite. We caught up with Bereni to reflect on their debut season, the transition into year two, his thoughts on Farres, the future of Haarup, and what lies ahead for Triumph’s racing programme.
GateDrop: Vince, let’s go back to last year. It was Triumph’s first attempt at racing a full MX2 World Championship. Overall, how would you look back at the season with Camden and Mikkel?
Bereni: It was very positive overall; we were learning more every weekend in the MX2 class as a team and worked hard through the season to improve the bike wherever we saw we could make steps forward. For Camden, everything was going to plan building a step-by-step strategy, although the injury in Portugal slowed down the progress. However, he showed a lot of positives and improved many aspects on and off the track. He could have more overall podiums we believe, and experience comes a lot into play in that class – all of this will help him in his career and future with us.
Mikkel, what can I say other than positive things. First race, first podium! He made history for Triumph and will forever stay in the history books. We struggled a bit on round two (the team), which cost quite a bit for Mikkel and we faced a few races searching for the improvements we needed. However, Mikkel was consistent and kept the hopes and motivation alive. Soon as we got more comfortable and better with the bike, he was strong and ended the season strong to place a really positive P5 overall.
Let’s say he created a lot of success for us and for Triumph – it was an awesome season and we loved to work with him, it was a pleasure.
GateDrop: With Mikkel ageing out of the MX2 World Championship at the end of 2024, was it hard to replace a rider as talented as Mikkel?
Bereni: Well, going into 2024 we took a young rider and an experienced rider, replacing Mikkel knowing the rider market was locked made us revisit our strategy.
We then decided to trust ourselves and the teamwork plan, going with Guillem was a calculated risk and so far, it seems to work out quite good.
GateDrop: You ended up with Guillem Farres as Camden’s teammate for 2025. How did you end up coming up with Guillem and how did the deal all come together?
Bereni: It was clear and simple; the rider list was not very long to get where we wanted to be. We did work on some riders that we believed were on the same calibre as Mikkel, however when we saw this was turning into mainly a money deal, I went back to my own way of thinking. You need a rider in your team who wants to be in your team because he believes in you and is willing to do whatever it takes. I started to talk to Nani Roma and after I was in Indonesia I jumped back in the next plane to Barcelona to meet them and get the feeling. It was then clear we wanted to work with Guillem – his history shows his dedication and drive, and today we are very happy with our choice.
GateDrop: We are already into the second half of the 2025 season – time flies! Last year zero moto wins but this year you have two already with each of them winning a moto each. How would you reflect on the season so far and how did it feel to win those races?
Bereni: The boys worked very hard this winter with Clement and to be honest they deserved those wins; having a win with each of them and a podium with each of them is great. Now we need an overall. They work for this, and I believe we are competitive every weekend. As a team we keep pushing trying to improve to give them that overall, working on and off the track. This class is extremely impressive this year, in my opinion they are the reference of the whole series. Having five different riders with the red plate so far shows how high the level is. I think we also had 10 different moto winners, so that makes the challenge very hard, it’s not an excuse of course, but we work hard to belong there.
GateDrop: Do you feel like Triumph is closing the gap to the established brands in MX2 such as KTM?
Bereni: I feel like the team has done the work for it and sure it’s fun to battle with a brand that has had so much success, they are the one to beat. They are the reference, clearly.
GateDrop: How has it been to work with Farres and what do you think it’s been like for him racing GP’s after his American experience?
Bereni: Guillem never raced a full season in GP or in the US, so it is important to build, and both types of racing are different. The race format of Europe can be difficult as the weekends are very long with now Friday/Saturday and Sunday, plus adapting to travel around the world plays a part. Sure, racing in US has brought him some experience that I think is a great advantage for the GPs.
GateDrop: How did Farres feel on the Triumph straight away obviously having never ridden one and being a brand new bike? You must be intrigued to see what riders think when they ride the bike for the first time?
Bereni: Guillem came in after a long injury so it’s different from a rider who just jumped from one bike to another. He was feeling good and of course we had to build everything to be able to apply proper testing to see where we were at. Like I said, he is easy going and not a diva. I believed he trusted the team decisions on changes and trusts our judgment, so far it is working well.
GateDrop: What was the winter like for the team this year going into year two of the project? Did you make many changes – I know Desalle’s title changed as he is more a coach/trainer – how did winter prep go?
Bereni: Yes, of course, during the 2024 season we learned a lot on every angle the bike but also the team. As a team we were used to a 450 rider, so it was very different. We then worked on improving areas we felt like was important to revisit on the bike, also adapt the bike to the sound regulations. We keep busy for sure. As a team you kind of answer in your question, Clement took over on the rider preparation and did a really good job. This was important in MX2, as they need this support and experience. Both riders train on and off the bike with Clement, every day they were in contact and having Clement’s advice and knowledge as a rider is awesome. The boys became very close and that brought a nice team spirit and atmosphere, sometimes we have to control that, but when they are on the bike it’s game on.
GateDrop: I am sure riders like to have freedom but at the same time certain managers have models you want the riders to follow. Do you allow flexibility within a certain model?
Bereni: This question is maybe more for them, but I try to answer. First of all, I am a green manager. I spent most of my career as a technician, so sure, I learn every day. I consider myself quite laid back with them, as long as they do the job. I am expecting hard work and 200% dedication, if you don’t give us that, let’s say I don’t sugarcoat any angle. Sometimes people think I am hard, but I am much harder on myself and this means I am pretty to the point on some things. Everyone works hard for the results.
GateDrop: At the start of the season it was sounding like Camden might not stay beyond 2025 but what’s the current situation? It sounds like he might stay now?
Bereni: We run the programme, and we have the direction we would like to take – we feed this back to Triumph, but the final call is with them on what happens next and for sure they are also working on the long-term plans based on the last two years. We worked hard to help Camden to make a name in MX2 and as a team we are happy if he stays with us, but there is no confirmation either way at present.
GateDrop: Mikkel Haarup has a contract to race the MXGP World Championship with the team in 2026, what’s the latest on that? It sounds like he might stay in USA…
Bereni: At present there’s lots of discussions around 2026, and nothing can be confirmed.
GateDrop: Have you had much contact with Mikkel this year whilst he is racing in America and what’s your thoughts on his performances?
Bereni: Yes, we have spoken quite often. I am happy for him that he can live the experience. To be honest the first race I watched was Southwick and I saw he rode really good. He has to learn a lot and I think we are yet to see what he can do there. I am confident that a podium could be coming.
GateDrop: Things have been quiet around the Triumph 450cc, has development started with your team? I am assuming Clement Desalle will be involved in this when it starts if it hasn’t started already?
Bereni: Yes, Clement is still one of the test riders. I am actually impressed, because he will be flying to a test between GPs to do that job and also follow the riders. He does a lot for Triumph in the background. Triumph control more the 450 side, we did a lot for the 250 and the base as we were not racing. It makes sense and we as a team will bring our touch of course, but the foundation is under Triumph engineering with the test riders.
GateDrop: It is pretty uncommon for a manufacturer to launch a new bike on the market without having a proper racing program. Tom Guyon actually made the Triumph 450cc MXGP debut this year. What’s your thought on that?
Bereni: We, as a team, are fully focussed on our MX2 programme and not necessarily Triumph’s overall marketing strategy. We know the plan from Triumph always was to take this step-by-step approach, and we are a part of that structure – our focus is on the results in the MX2 series right now.
GateDrop: Worst case, if Mikkel doesn’t come back to race MXGP next year, are the team still committed to running an MXGP rider in 2026 or would you be fully focused on MX2 again?
Bereni: We are fully working on the plans for the next season and are always looking forward. Triumph is also working on the overall plans for the MX programme, and right now they are not fully confirmed on the plan for 2026 or beyond, so I can’t comment on that. We know there is a desire to be in MXGP and there is a lot going on behind the scenes to get to that point.
GateDrop: The EMX250 series is great for development, would you be interested in having an EMX250 rider in the near future?
Bereni: I am clear on that, right now it’s not in the plan. The team needs to focus on MX2 and MXGP – with the EMX schedule, I feel like it is not doable if you want to do a good job.
