RECORDS SET TO BE BROKEN AT THE ISLE OF MAN TT ZERO

The Fifth Edition of One of the World's Most Exhilarating Electric Motorsport Races Begins Tomorrow

The Isle of Man TT is in full flow and the riders are gearing up for the last few days of exhilarating racing. The fifth edition of the TT Zero Challenge is scheduled for Wednesday June 10th at 10:45 GMT. This nascent competition is the official electric motorsport race at Isle of Man TT and has come on leaps and bounds since it replaced the TTXGP in 2010. “The technical concept is for motorcycles (two wheeled) to be powered without the use of carbon based fuels and have zero toxic/noxious emissions.” The race is based on one lap of the world famous Snaefell mountain course, which is 37.73 miles (60.72 km) long.

Oregon-based motorcycle company MotoCzysz took first place in 2010, with its E1pc electric motorcycle crossing the finish line in 23’22.89 mins, clocking an average speed of 96.82 mph (155.82 Km/h). Interestingly, this was the first time since 1911 that an American-made bike had won a race at the Isle of Man. The winning MotoCzysz E1pc had “10 times the battery capacity of a Toyota Prius and 2.5 times the torque of a Ducati 1198.” It carried ten individual lithium polymer cells, which fed power to its DC internal permanent magnet motor.

Every year since then, the bikes have gotten more powerful and the lap speeds have increased by an average of 5 mph (8 Km/h) per year. This year’s one to watch is Team Mugen’s John McGuinness riding a machine called SHINDEN YON, Japanese for “God of Electricity, number 4.″ McGuinness is a 21-time Man TT winner and current holder of the TT Zero title. Not happy with waiting for race day, the genial Englishman bested the record he set last year in qualifying, finishing one lap at a blistering average speed of 118.056 mph (189.993 Km/h).