If you had to guess, what would you say the world record distance of riding a motorcycle in 24 hours would be? A thousand miles? Two thousand miles? More?
Iván Cervantes, five-times Enduro World Champion and Triumph Global Ambassador, has just answered that question for us by officially claiming the Guinness World Records title for ‘The greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours (individual)’.
The record was achieved riding a standard-spec Tiger 1200 GT Explorer, with the only maintenance required on the bike during the challenge being a single, planned tyre change halfway through the attempt. The venue for the record-breaking ride was the High-Speed Ring at the Nardò Technical Center in Italy, so in fairness, Iván didn’t need to worry about the traffic on the M25 slowing him down.
However, the distance he covered is mind-blowing: Iván travelled 4012.53km (2493.27 miles) in a 24-hour period, beating the previous record of 3406km by a huge margin of more than 600km.
Just to put those 2493.27 miles into perspective, that’s a distance equivalent to riding from the Triumph HQ in Hinkley, Leicestershire to Iván’s hometown of Cambrils in Spain, and then back again. Mind you, you’d still have to take the scenic route to make that journey as long as the record ride.
The record attempt was witnessed by a Guinness World Records adjudicator, who validated the final distance travelled in 24 hours as 4012.53km, with an average speed of 167.79km/h.
Iván commented on his ride: “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.”
Victor Fenes, Official Adjudicator, Guinness World Records said: “I am truly humbled to have witnessed Iván Cervantes's awe-inspiring achievement of setting the Guinness World Records title for the Greatest distance on a motorcycle in 24 hours (individual). Iván's unwavering dedication and Triumph's support embody the values we hold dear at Guinness World Records. It is a true testament to the indomitable spirit of human determination and the pursuit of greatness.”
You can watch the full story of Iván’s incredible challenge here:
The record ride in numbers
- Attempt duration: 24 hours
- Total distance travelled: 4012.53km
- Location: High Speed Ring, Nardò Technical Center, Italy
- Length of one lap: 12.649km
- Number of laps: 317
- Riding speed: Over 200km/h
- Average speed over 24 hours: 167.79km/h
- Number of pitstops: 18
- Litres of fuel used: 520
- Number of tyre changes: 1
- Hours of sleep: 0
