Triumph triumphs at Daytona.

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Buddy Elmore’s 1966 Triumph Tiger 100, one of four works supported bikes entered in that years Daytona 200. Starting from 46th on the grid due to an oil pressure problem in qualifying, he led by lap 22 to the take chequered flag averaging 96.6mph. He wasnt expected to win, or probably even finish; renowned Triumph collector and owner of the winning '66 bike Dick Shepard explains below.


It was from this memorable race that the Daytona 100 was born. Triumph repeated their 66 win with a 1-2 finish in 1967, Gary Nixon this time finishing ahead of Buddy Elmore. Nixon had finished 9th in the 1966 race after a puncture sent him into the pits while fighting Elmore for the lead. 

Six of Triumph engineer Doug Hele’s T100s finished in the first fifteen places of the 97 contestants in 1967. Needless to say, the new twin-carburetor Daytona models were selling at a brisk rate as a result, with many of Hele’s race bike upgrades finding their way into production over the ensuing model years.



Gary Nixon's stunning 1967 Daytona 200 race winning bike.



Ace Classics and Jim Hiddleston recreated Elmore’s bike in 2012 to debut at Goodwood's revival meeting, which was later sold by Anthony Godin for (frankly a bargain) $21k.



Following on from the 1966 race, Triumph developed the 500cc T100 Daytona, launched in late 1966 as a street-legal sport bike. Chief Engineer Doug Hele designed the bike with a new cylinder head, twin Amal Monobloc carburetors, and revised valve angles to enhance performance. The T100 Daytona featured a strengthened engine, revised steering geometry, and a stiffer swingarm, while retaining the Tiger 100’s core design. The bike’s drivetrain included a duplex primary chain and a 4-speed gearbox, and it ran on 3.25 x 19-inch front and 4.00 x 18-inch rear tires with 7-inch drum brakes. 

The models shipped in the United States were designated as the TR100R and featured US trim, while the UK and rest of the world models were designated as TR100T and delivered in UK trim.

Cycle World rode the new T500R Daytona for their February 1st 1967 edition.




The Daytona was the final version of Triumphs 500cc Tiger, a 34 year production run ending in 1973, all powered by Ed Turners Speed Twin derived parallel twin first sold in 1939. 

St Louis Car Museum sold this beautiful 2000 mile T500R.







And Duke of London sold this stunning 1975 T500R.




Finally, back to Dick Sheppard and his incredible collection of 300 plus Triumph's.





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