Despite weather conditions that made hoped-for speeds impossible, the Ohio State University Venturi Buckeye Bullet team set a so-far unofficial one-mile record of 240.320 mile per hour (386.757 kilometers per hour) in their Venturi VBB-3 streamliner. The aptly named Bullet suffered damage from the rough track because of recent rains on the 12-mile stretch. Normally, the Bonneville Salt Flats are smooth enough to allow re-use of the vehicle. The Columbus Dispatch reported on the home team. “’We went faster than we have ever gone with this vehicle, but it was a very difficult week on a very bumpy track and we have done some damage to the vehicle from extreme vibrations,’ said David Cooke, a mechanical engineering graduate student at Ohio State and a leader of the team, in a statement provided by the school.” The Dispatch adds, “The record, which still needs to be certified by an international governing body, is for a specific vehicle type: Category A Group …
June is a Happy Month for Electric Motorsports
With only half the month gone and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb scheduled on its last week, June 2014 has seen records crumble at the Isle of Man TT and hybrid electrical technology dominate at the 80th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The electric part of the classic road race on the tight little island between Britain and Northern Ireland saw new records for the 37 mile spin around the southern roadways – like the Le Man circuit, otherwise public roads usually dominated by farm vehicles and passenger cars. Ohio State University’s Buckeye Racing Team ran a modified Honda CBR1000RR frame with a motor by Roman Susnik, the Slovenian who also designed the motors used in the Pipistrel G2 self-launching motorglider. They ran a respectable third place, a great accomplishment for a college team up against the might of the winning Honda Mugen. John McGuinness rode that $4.3 million racer to set a lap record of …
Motoczysz Wins the Isle of Man TT – Again
Gizmag.com reports this morning that Motoczysz (roughly, “moto-sizz”), won the Isle of Man electric Tourist Trophy race at an average speed just short of the fabled “ton,” or 100 miles per hour. Although 28 percent shy of the best internal combustion machine’s time, Gizmag urges looking at it from the perspective that it’s been 54 years since a petrol-powered motorcycle achieved that speed. Mike Hanlon, reporting for Gizmag, notes that the bike’s 99.513 mph average demonstrates, “yet another quantum leap in electric bike performance from last year’s 96.820 mph average and the 2009 winning average of 87.434 mph.” This had to be a bit frustrating for the winning rider, since the 100 mph average would have netted him an additional prize of 10,000 pounds sterling (about $16,000). Rider Michael Rutter and teammate Mark Miller finished 1-2 on the Portland, Oregon manufactured bikes, and one managed a 149.5 mph run through the speed traps, showing the enormous speed these bikes can …