Troy Lee Designs says so long to Big Red, hello to the Orange Brigade.
Silly season doesn’t always just apply to riders switching teams. Sometimes teams also switch brands.
That was the case today, as Troy Lee Designs (TLD) announced a multi-year agreement with KTM Motorsports, and will now be known as the Troy Lee Designs/Lucas Oil/Red Bull/KTM team. The team will compete in the 2015 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Series and the 2015 Lucas Oil Pro Motocross Championship aboard Red Bull and KTM-supported motorcycles.
The new program goes beyond factory support for AMA Pro Racing events. It also includes a new partnership in which the KTM-initiated Orange Brigade amateur program is also part of the TLD operation. The mission of the initiative will be to create a world-class structure that will bring talented young motocross racers into the KTM program, and in doing so, provide them with all of the technical assistance and professional guidance needed to help them achieve their goals in the sport, be they amateur national championships or AMA Pro Racing championships.
Troy Lee Designs owner Troy Lee said that he could hardly put into words how excited his company is to team up with KTM.
“We dream big over here at TLD, and in order to get to where we want to be, we needed a company that not only lives and breathes, and most importantly, believes in racing, but also one that has the infrastructure and equipment to help us reach our immediate, near and long term goals in the sport,” Lee said. “More than any other company in modern history, KTM has proven to the motocross world that they are here to win and they will do absolutely anything that it takes to make that happen.
“To my way of seeing things, KTM takes a racing stance of ‘we need to race and race to win, then we’ll worry about selling motorcycles later,'” Lee added. “That’s just amazing to me and a philosophy both I and my employees want to be a part of. First and foremost, Troy Lee Designs is a racing company, and the attitude KTM displays will motivate all of us to go above and beyond in our mission to become the planet’s elite program for developing young talent into The World’s Fastest Racers.”
Jon-Erik Burleson, President of KTM North America, said that the new TLD amateur and professional racing program fits right in with the Austrian company’s American objectives.
“For the past four years we have been building a program to start with our Orange Brigade kids at an early stage and bring them all the way through our program to the professional level,” Burleson said. “By adding the TLD program, we can finally say all of the core components are there. They have a proven 250 program and a keen interest in farming from our already strong amateur program. Add to that the amazingly creative brand of Troy Lee Designs and we not only get a racing program, but a great collaboration of our two brands that will be really exciting to see develop over the next few years.”
The new partnership between Troy Lee Designs and Red Bull/KTM also means that TLD’s world-renowned design firm and paint shop will collaborate with KTM on a bunch of what it calls “new and innovative projects and products which will blend the style and creativity TLD is globally recognized for, with the world class, competition-proven racing equipment design, built and refined by KTM.”
If you are a KTM fan or a Troy Lee Designs fan, today is a very good day.
About Troy Lee Designs
For over 30 years, Troy Lee has been customizing helmets “For The World’s Fastest Racers.” TLD’s relentless commitment to creating products that exceed the cutting edge of style, design and quality, has earned them the reputation as an innovator in many different fields of racing. Troy Lee Designs has since expanded into a full force operation, offering a complete line of helmets, apparel and premium protection for off-road motorcycling and bicycling, sportswear and accessories, and operating the TLD supercross and motocross teams. Based in Corona, California, Troy Lee Designs has a global network of distributors.
About KTM
“READY TO RACE” – for KTM, these three words are far more than a simple slogan. They stand for the entire company philosophy of developing vehicles that can without any modifications comprehensively assert themselves in any race. Direct from the dealer onto the track and into the battle for victory.
Designers, engineers and riders are bound by a clear common denominator: an unconditional passion for motorcycles. The whole KTM family is a living example of this worldwide. Countless offiroad World and European championship titles plus brilliant victories in the world’s toughest races (International Six Days Enduro, Dakar Rally, Erzbergrodeo, and many more) all speak for themselves. And KTM Supermotos, Naked Bikes, Superbikes and the X-Bow all demonstrate what an “orange” lead means on asphalt.
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