Every June, three races provide insight into how much electric power has become a regular part of motorsports: The Isle of Man TT Zero motorcycle race, the 24 Hours of LeMans, and the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. This year, there were disappointments as well as triumphs, but progress nonetheless. Isle of Man TT Zero For followers of electric two-wheeling, this year’s Tourist Trophy (TT) Zero had one high moment, a record-setting run by Michael Rutter on a Team Mugen bike, which did one lap at 121.824 mph (18:34.956 for the 37.75 mile course). Admittedly, because of the relatively low energy density of batteries to petrol, the electric bikes do a single lap compared to the six laps on the more powerful and faster superbikes. He was flagged off on his run by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and received his trophy in similarly royal style. Rutter topped a field of “privateers” and university teams, which all did credibly. It …
Pikes Peak 2016 – A Record-Setting Year
Electric vehicles did not win the Broadmoor Pikes Peak International Hill Climb outright this year, but their overall showing was an indicator of how much progress designers have made in the last five years. Everyone’s a Winner! In 2011, Chip Yates rode his UQM-powered motorcycle to a record 12:50.094 time. Part of the 12.42-mile course was dirt road then, adding to the thrills, but slowing overall times. “I felt bad for the fans that watched me through the dirt section. They saw an electric superbike going 1 mph around the hairpins in the dirt.” He added this declaration, “We got a 12:51 time, I’ll take it, it’s plenty good for a rookie, and it’s plenty good for a home-made bike made by three volunteers.” He removed the motor from the bike and powered a modified Long-Eze aircraft to set several world records. Astonishingly, all but five of this year’s 78 finishers (out of 97 starters) had better times than Chip’s …
Pikes Peak 2014
Despite only three electric motorcycle entries this year (Zero alone fielded six production bikes last year) of 65 total, and seven automobiles in production and modified categories of 70 total entrants, upsets ensued on both two wheels and four at the 2014 Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The three electric motorcycles all finished and did well. The Brutus V2 is not the most powerful electric motorcycle to ever make it up the Peak. Chip Yates’ 2011 ride had a 258-horsepower UQM motor and was probably more brutal than Brutus. But this year’s results, even with far less power, show that weight, balance and handling probably count in the mix, too. Yates managed a motorcycle record of 12.50 minutes in 2011, causing an inrush of competitive electric machines in the 2012 running. Fumio Nutahara, driving a Toyota EV P002, made a run of 10 minutes, 15 seconds with two 350 hp. axial flux motors providing the impetus. 2013 saw Lightning take …