Isle of Man TT racer and resident Allan Brew puts the eSuperbike, an all-electric motorcycle developed at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA) through it's paces at the SES Zero TT Race 2011.
With just one lap of the full TT race circut to post your fastest time after the qualifying rounds the pressure was on.32 teams took part in this years electric race and with a prize of £10,000 for the first electric bike to finish with an average speed of 100 miles per hour or more, everyone was pushing their technology to the max. The MIT students led by PhD student Lennon Rodgers pitched to BMW to supply a chassis for the race which BMW agreed to donate. The team were supplied with an S1000RR racing bike which they converted using 2 of our LMC motors, which provide a combined 32 kilowatts of power.
On Thursday afternoon (June 9th) the team's motorcycle hummed across the finish line, coming in fourth with an average speed of 79 miles per hour.
"It was a great experience," Rodgers says. "I think the teams with the most reliable motorcycles were able to finish … we focused on reliability, and that's what saved us in the end."
Rodgers says competitive venues like the Isle of Man may yield the next generation of electric-vehicle design.
"This is where a lot of innovation comes in," Rodgers says. "And that's the thing about racing, is that it pushes you to try the extreme."
While the team didn't claim first place, Rodgers says taking home the trophy wasn't the team's main goal. "We don't need to be number one," Rodgers says. "We just wanted to finish the race and do well. That's enough of an achievement for a first-time race."
We look forward to seeing MIT and the other teams battling it out for the 100mph prize at next years Zero TT race. To read more about the MIT eSuperbike click here.
