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MotoCzysz Continues Dominance at Isle of Man TT Zero

June 6, 2012 by 7 Comments
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Picture by Matt Mackey/presseye.com

Michael Rutter began and ended the 2012 TT Zero race in front on the MotoCzysz machine, finishing in 21:45.33 minutes with an average speed of 104.056 mph, clearly winning the £10,000 prize for being the first rider to break the ton at the Isle of Man on an electric motorcycle. McGuinness beat Miller to second place with a 102.215 mph average lap in 22:08.85 minutes, Miller finished third with 101.065 mph average in 22:23.97 minutes.I spoke with Miller shortly before they started and he was very concerned about the conditions. There was still a bit of wet pavement in some parts, and they’re all on racing slicks. However, his concerns were unfounded, as the track conditions did indeed turn out to be fine.

Rob Barber came in a distant 4th, at 78.22 mph average in 28:56.45 minutes. In fact, the podium celebrations were well underway when Barber came across the finish line. Eight bikes started but only four were able to finish. This is the nature of racing new technology built on a tight budget. Some teams in the TT Zero are at least partially student projects, from universities such as Imperial College London and Kingston University. Others simply had problems I hope to uncover in interviews later today.

However, enough about failure. Today is a massive success story for Czysz, the motorcycle builder who dreamt of competing in MotoGP then had to shelve that dream, as seen in Charge, the film about the beginning of electric motorcycle racing here at the Isle of Man back in 2009. When he first learned of TTXGP from his electrical engineer, he was able to keep his dream alive of making a competitive race machine. And the past three years he’s proven successful at that. I only wish I could afford to buy one. For now, the price on the world’s best electric race bike? Unobtanium.

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About Susanna Schick

Susanna is passionate about anything fast and electric. As long as it's only got two wheels. She covers electric motorcycle racing events, test rides electric motorcycles, and interviews industry leaders. Occasionally she deigns to cover automobile events in Los Angeles for us as well. However, she dreams of a day when Los Angeles' streets resemble the two-wheeled paradise she discovered living in Barcelona and will not rest until she's converted the masses to two-wheeled bliss.

  • DaveD

    I’m so happy for Michael and all the progress that the whole EV community has made. This is the type of showcase that will get the next generation excited and pushing into electric vehicles of all types.
    I wonder how long it took the ICE bikes to get to 105 mph? I know it took 50 years to get to 100mph :-)

    Thanks Susanna! Great coverage!

    • http://importantmedia.org/members/susannaschick/ Susanna Schick

      That’s a good question, I wonder too. More than that, I wonder when, if ever, bikes will break a 150mph average lap here.

      And- You’re welcome! I’m happy to oblige. This is a great place to “work”! It took 4 years, in fact, for the electric bikes to break the ton, and Czysz has competed each of those 4 years. So it truly is a great day for them, and their powertrain customers. I just had a great interview with Michael Czysz about their business and the industry, which I’ll post tomorrow.

  • DaveD

    They should shoot for 175kph next year…that would be about 108.74mph and it gives them another natural step towards that 200kph in a few years. At 200kph, they’ll be competitive with the top superbikes…and I have no doubt they’ll get there.

  • http://esbk.co ttxgpfan

    kph . . . I like it. It makes a lot of sense.

    • http://importantmedia.org/members/susannaschick/ Susanna Schick

      It does, but this is the land where this infernal, I mean, Imperial, measurement system was invented. We need to destroy it, but the e-bikes are already such outcasts I fear using a proper measurement system will alienate them even more from the UK (and US) fans. (half kidding, because it would be the smart thing to do, 200kph)

  • http://www.lean-angles.com Adam

    Some great coverage of the whole event Suzanna. It’s been really helpful as I cover the TT on my site. Some nice photos too. Well done. Great for MotoCzysz, and an okay day for the sport. I’m a little more underwhelmed. 4 bikes finishing and one 6 mins adrift, is still a long way from a proper racing series. The tech is making great strides. Its just so frustrating to see so many bikes pull up hundreds of meters after starting. I can’t wait to see a real race between several entrants. I could care less about the top speed. 100mph is fine. Now lets all focus on getting a dozen bikes that can complete a lap at that speed.

    As for Lightning….wow. Ep1c fail.

    • http://importantmedia.org/members/susannaschick/ Susanna Schick

      Thanks Adam! Yeah, it takes a lot of money and a some brilliant engineering to build a competitive electric motorcycle now. I’m not sure we will be able to see that anytime real soon, though. There are a handful of companies making powertrains and batteries good enough to compete at the level of Czysz and Mugen, and their products aren’t cheap.