KillaCycle racing beat everyone at Bonneville with a 240+ miles/hr electric motorcycle

The Killacycle Racing Team just set a new speed record in their class (three wheeled streamlined electric motorcycles) and for the first time in history an electric vehicle had the fastest speed at the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials event.  I don't know much beyond a couple postings from the Killacycle team, so I'll do my best to summarize what they posted.

Basically - they a) set a new record at 240.726 miles/hr b) was the fastest vehicle this week.

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

What this means is they scored the fastest time overall at this years speed trials.  This is big news people.  Perhaps bigger than in 2013 when Lightning Motorcycles beat everyone at Pikes Peak.  They beat everyone at Bonneville.

What did they do?  The sharp eyed will note a speed of around 240 miles/hr.

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

Here's the time slip.  Some math major in the Facebook comments calculated the average between the runs to be 240.726 miles/hr.  In this kind of time trial format, to certify a record time the team has to make a second run in the opposite direction.  This slip shows 241.852 miles/hr in one direction, and 239.600 in the opposite direction.

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

On the 26th they'd had a couple runs in the 224 miles/hr range, which was enough to set a record (in their class).  Here they're boasting to have the fastest electric motorcycle on the planet.

Of course there are multiple contenders to that status.  You have to pigeon-hole KillaCycle's claim into the class in which they're competing.  Lightning, Brammo, and all the others are competing in other classes than the three wheeled streamlined electric motorcycle class.  I'm not pointing this out to rain on KillaCycle's parade, because they sure deserve accolades, but to keep everything in perspective.

The the motorcycle in question is the Killajoule.  It's a custom designed custom built streamlined electric motorcycle built by Bill and Eva Dube, the duo that's behind the KillaCycle drag bike.

Bonneville Salt Flat racing canceled this week due to rain

The ShootOut at the Bonneville Salt Flats is officially canceled ..per..

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

Weather has cleared at Bonneville, they might cancel the racing

KillaCycle Racing has posted a few more pictures and statements.  The short story is, that while the rain has let up the organizers will decide on Monday whether to cancel the event.

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

KillaCycle Racing at Bonneville Salt Flats, but it's too wet to race

KillaCycle Racing is back at the Bonneville Salt Flats for "Mike Cook's ShootOut".  Racing was originally scheduled to start on Friday ..but.. heck Eva wrote it pretty well, so rather than rephrase it, I'll paste it in here.  I will note that, as Eva says, Drayson Racing is there as well.

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

And here's a few more pictures

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

Post by KillaCycle Racing.

Drayson Racing heading to Bonneville for land speed racing efforts

Drayson Racing recently set a land speed record of 204.2 miles/hr average speed over a measured mile at the Elvington Airfield, in Yorkshire.  However that track wasn't long enough for them to fully test just how fast the Drayson B12 69/EV can go because they had to start braking while the car was still accelerating.  As a result the team is taking a trip to ... Bonneville.

They'll be at the Bonneville Speed Shootout for the next few days (Sept 12-18).  This event is a chance to set FIA certified world land speed records.  Drayson Racing is aiming for the sub-1000 kilogram electrically powered class.

BRITAIN’S RACING LORD AIMS TO RAISE SUB-1000 KG ELECTRIC CAR WORLD LAND SPEED RECORD AT BONNEVILLE SPEED SHOOTOUT

10 September 2013 : Technology entrepreneur, former UK science minister and racing driver Lord (Paul) Drayson is bringing his spectacular Drayson B12 69/EV electric Le Mans Prototype racing car to the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah in an attempt to raise the sub-1000kg electric car world land speed record.

Drayson Racing achieved a 204.2mph average speed (subject to FIA homologation) over the measured mile earlier this summer at Elvington Airfield in Yorkshire, UK, and is aiming to go even faster at the much longer Bonneville track.

By running in the sub-1000kg electric vehicle land speed record class, the team is aiming to demonstrate the future possibilities of EV technology and performance and to highlight the importance of lightweight in future electric car design.

It’s the latest challenge to be undertaken by the pioneering electric motorsports firm, which has been at the forefront of sustainable racing since 2007 and was first to sign up for the new FIA Formula E championship having been scientific advisers to the series.

The car is scheduled to run at the Bonneville Speed Shootout (Sept 12-18) where the fastest cars and motorcycles in the world aim to establish new FIA and FIM certified speed records. Lord Drayson, who will be aiming to top a previous sub-1000kg electric car best, is aiming to push the 800bhp B12/69 EV to its maximum possible speed during the US attempt.

Said Lord Drayson, founder and CEO of Drayson Racing Technologies: “We are delighted to be invited to Bonneville and to be racing on the West Coast – without doubt the spiritual home of the electric vehicle.”

“Back in June, the relatively short runway at Elvington limited our top speed as we had to brake as the car was still accelerating. We are looking forward to discovering just how fast the car can go on the wide-open spaces of the Bonneville salt flats, although its been a major engineering challenge to prepare the car for running on salt.“

“The development of lightweight car technology is a key part of the drive to bring electric cars to market with the range and performance that consumers expect. That is why we are focused on the sub 1000kg category for the EV world record. It presents the greatest technical challenge to engineer a car that weighs under 1000kg, goes over 200mph and is purely driven by sustainable electric energy.”

One of the team’s major backers and supporters is San Diego based, Qualcomm, a leading provider of wireless technology and services. The Drayson B12 record car incorporates Qualcomm’s pioneering Wireless Vehicle Electric Charging (WEVC) system that uses inductive wireless energy transfer to eliminate the plug-in cord used in most electric cars today.

Lightning Motorcycles sets AMA/FIM electric motorcycle land speed record

Yesterday I reported on the Bonneville land speed racing last week, saying that Lightning Motorcycles had probably set a new record.  I've now talked with Richard Hatfield, and learned that they did set an official AMA and FIM land speed record for electric motorcycles, however they didn't get to beat their personal best speed from two years ago.  The new AMA/FIM electric motorcycle land speed record is 203 miles/hr. 

The racing event was cut short by a rainstorm that Richard described as the worst storm he'd ever seen.  That meant they could plausibly have gotten a higher speed if they'd been able to take a few more runs.

I didn't get a listing of all the runs Lightning did.  Richard said they set the FIM record first.  Then, because the FIM and AMA rules for fairings are different, they had to modify the fairing before setting the AMA record.  The difference is in the rear, where they had to expose the entire rear wheel from the axle rearwards.   Look at the picture above, and ponder how the tail would be different with a notch cut out of it.

The AMA and FIM record now stands at slightly above 203 miles/hr, getting slightly above 203 miles/hr in both directions.

For a couple days they had the 3rd fastest motorcycle overall at the event.

Two years ago they'd gone to Bonneville for an event sponsored by the Southern California Timing Associated and set a record of 215 miles/hr, and a top speed of 217 miles/hr.   While that was amazing, the SCTA events are not sanctioned by the AMA or FIM and the record was not recorded in the official record book.  Two weeks later Chip Yates did so setting the AMA/FIM electric motorcycle land speed records at just below 200 miles/hr.

Lightning Motorcycles may have set a record at Bonneville

KillaCycle Racing wasn't the only electric motorcycle team at Bonneville this week.  Lightning Motorcycles was there too, but they didn't post as much on Facebook and I haven't had a chance to talk with them.

On Aug 26 they posted: "We're super excited to say that today, on the legendary Bonneville salt flats, we've claimed the first SOLAR land speed record! Hearty shout-out to SMA America for all the support, and more to come soon!"

 What this shows is their race bike, but with the land speed record fairing.  They've experimented with several fairings over the years and the idea is to cut wind resistance.  Notice how this one has a leg shaped cut-out that's obviously so the rider can easily mount and dismount the bike as needed.

The solar panels are shown deployed in the first picture, and folded up in the second.  They're mounted in aluminum frames on top of the Sprinter van, that have gas struts to hold the panels in place.  When parked somewhere they deploy the panels, which then charge a 35 kilowatt-hour battery pack mounted inside the van.  Also in the van is a pair of 6 kilowatt SMA inverters.  The inverters are powerful enough to run high end Manzanita chargers letting them quick charge the bikes in under an hour.  Plus it powers all the tools they need on-site.

They didn't post any specifics about speeds etc.  I don't know what they mean by "solar land speed record" as I doubt the event organizers care about the source of the electrons that powered the bike.

The land speed record for this sort of bike is held by Lightning Motorcycles - 215 miles/hr in 2011.

Lightning did post this nice picture of conditions after the rain storm that canceled racing for the week.  Whatever they could have achieved this week got cut short by the rain storm.

KillaCycle Racing sets electric streamlined sidecar speed record at Bonneville - around 213 miles/hr

It's land speed racing time at the Bonneville Salt Flats and I see from Facebook that both Lightning Motorcycles and KillaCycle racing were there.  In this post I'll cover what KillaCycle posted on Facebook.  The big takeaway is that they made it into the 201+ miles/hr club, it's not clear if they got enough verification that they'll have an official record because a rain storm came in and turned the salt into a lake.

View from the cockpit

On Aug 25, they were doing a shakedown run and hit over 170 miles/hr - meaning to hit maybe 150 miles/hr instead. 

This is what the KillaJoule looks like this year.  Looks a lot like last year but I think that's because the outer skin is the same.  I've been following their Facebook postings all year and know they've rebuilt quite a bit of stuff under the skin including new batteries etc.  I see that A123 Systems is still a sponsor.

On Day 2 they made one run at 183 miles per hour, then went for a record run.  The outbound run they hit over 200 miles/hr, and on the return run hit 191 miles/hr for an average of 196.168 miles/hr.  At that point the controller was set to supply only 100 horsepower out of the 400 horsepower available.

On Day 3 they bumped the power up, they had an outbound run at 210. 844 mph and backup of 213.250 gave a new record of 212.047 mph (341.2 km/h). They were looking at changing gearing to see if they could go faster.  However, a little later they posted that rain had moved in canceling all the runs that day.

The next day they did a run at 214 miles/hr but then rain moved in for real and they had to skedaddle from the salt.  Because the previous days runs were close enough to this one, that means they can use one of those runs as the backup for this run.  If I understand the rules right that means they'll have made a record somewhere above the 212.047 miles/hr average from the day before.

For their troubles they get to own this spiffy new hat.

Nesesis, electric supercar built by Ecotricity, sets UK electric car land speed record

The Nemesis, an electric supercar built by UK electricity supplier Ecotricity, broke the UK electric car land speed record on Thursday. The Nemesis, based on a Lotus Exige chasis, driven by Nick Ponting at Elvington Airfield near York, has set the new UK electric car land speed record at 151 miles/hr, breaking the 137 miles/hr record from a couple years ago set with a car built by Sir Malcolm Campbell and driven by Don Wales.

The Motor Sport Association was on hand to officially verify the record.  The team made two pairs of runs, with the record in each case being the average of two runs in opposite directions.  In the first pair of runs the team broke the existing record with a 148 miles/hr average speed.  On the second pair of runs they upped the record to 151 miles/hr.

Because the Nemesis was built by an all-British engineering team, based on  a British designed and built car (Lotus Exige), sponsored by a UK wind energy company, on a UK track, the company is playing up the "all British" aspect of the record.  It's possible that the electric motors and other components are also from British companies, as there is at least one British company (EVO Electric comes to mind) making a suitable electric motor.

The Nemesis was built on a Lotus Exige bought second hand on eBay. Ecotricity's spec sheet for the car says it has a 0-100 miles/hr time of 8.5 seconds, two 125 kW motors, giving 330bhp, and 600Nm of torque. The battery pack is 96 x 100 A/h 4.2 V pouch lithium polymer cobalt cells for 36 kilowatt hours of electrical capacity. Driving range is 100-150 miles depending on driving habits, and whether you can keep the car at a reasonable speed. It cost under £1 million pounds to build, and an 18 month build time.

Mr Vince said: “This is brilliant. We built the Nemesis to smash the stereotype of electric cars as something Noddy would drive – slow, boring, not cool – and I think we’ve done exactly that today. Hopefully this will further stimulate debate about the future of transport in Britain and how we’ll be getting around when the world runs out of oil. What we’ve been able to demonstrate is that wind-powered cars are not just feasible, but can be a load of fun.”

See: Ecotricity's Nemesis breaks UK electric car land speed record

Ecotricity: http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/about-ecotricity/eco-labs/nemesis and http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/news/news-archive/2012/the-nemesis-smashes-uk-electric-car-land-speed-record

KillaJoule/KillaCycle team does not quite set 200 miles/hr electric streamline motorcycle land speed record

A couple days ago Eva Hakansson, builder of the KillaJoule and the better half of the KillaCycle team, reported having made an over-200 miles/hr run at Bonneville but achieving an average speed well under 200.  As of Tuesday they were intent on making more runs on Wednesday and today, and setting a record over 200 miles/hr.  Unfortunately they were well on their way to doing so, only to find halfway through a run that the battery pack had a loose connection when the bike suddenly shut down.

Specifically: --- 214.050 MPH in the flying mile and 216.504 MPH in flying km, but no new record ---
 

Eva writes that the bike was accelerating great until it suddenly stopped at around 215 miles/hr.  The KillaJoule is using the KillaCycle's original 11P110S, total of 1210 A123Systems "M1" cells battery pack.  That pack is five years old, has set many world records, etc, and five years of being hauled all over the world has taken its toll.  

She also wrote: This year's best offical record will be 191.488 MPH in the flying mile and 191.886 MPH (308.744 km/h) in the flying kilometer (pending approval by AMA).

 

Again, the KillaJoule is in a different class from the Lightning or Chip Yates bikes.  This record for the KillaJoule is very impressive, but the Lightning and Yates records from last year still stand.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=428624470507480&set=a.134928633210400.12094.134690893234174&type=1

New electric motorcycle land speed record - 78.4 miles/hr - under 150kg class

A couple weeks ago I noted that Kevin Clemens was intending to set the land speed record in the under-150-kilogram class.  Fast forward to this week, the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials are underway, and he has set a record breaking the record he set last year.

According to a news report, on Sunday his controller went POP and probably let out the magic smoke. Fortunately he had a spare controller, but it only supported a lower voltage and he had to rewire the battery pack for the lower voltage.  This will of course limit the speed he can hit.

Yesterday he achieved a 78.4 miles/hr speed that is yet to be certified by the FIM.

Source: http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_21426358/lake-elmo-motorcyclist-sets-electric-bike-speed-record

KillaCycle's KillaJoule has 213 miles/hr run at BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials - aiming for 200+ mile/hr record today

This week is the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials, the AMA/FIM certified land speed racing event on the Bonneville Salt Flats.  This year the KillaJoule team has returned to the salt and is having great success, already setting a record and achieving a 213.190 miles/hr run.  The KillaJoule is a full streamliner electric motorcycle with a "sidecar" of sorts.  It was built by Eva Hakansson and Bill Dube of the KillaCycle racing team.  The week is not done yet, and they're looking to make a full pair of runs today at over 200 miles/hr.

This speed is in the neighborhood of the Lightning Motorcycle and Chip Yates records from 2011.  Lightning achieved a 215 miles/hr record, and Chip Yates set four records the fastest of which was just shy of 200 miles/hr.  The thing is that the KillaJoule and the Lightning/Yates bikes are in different race classes.  Where Lightning & Yates raced with regular motorcycles, the KillaJoule is a full streamliner.

This picture should help to understand the distinction.

On the Bonneville Salt flats with Bill Dube and Eva Haakansson and their electric streamliner. Eva's first run was a new record so we are in impound until the second run is made.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4062131484840&set=a.3790023442309.148319.1628798252&type=1&theater

Sunday they reported a brief rain storm that created a lake on the salt

After a brief rain storm this place turns into a lake. Team Killajoule has gone a little higher with the gearing for tomorrow. The course should be smoother and faster tomorrow, after this afternoons showers.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=4063445197682&set=a.3790023442309.148319.1628798252&type=1&theater

Also on Sunday they had a shake-down run during which they hit 159 miles/hr on the first pass, which then broke their record from last year necessitating a second run.  On the return pass they hit a 175 miles/hr average and exit speed over 180 miles/hr.  For Monday they planned to fiddle with the gearing and shoot for speeds over 200 miles/hr.

--- AMA record for KillaJoule at 167.851 mph ---

Time slips from the runs on Sunday

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=427862950583632&set=a.134928633210400.12094.134690893234174&type=1&theater 

For Monday the report was that the track was wet and slippery in the morning. Eva couldn't get the KillaJoule beyond 169 miles/hr. This beat their record from yesterday, earning them a shot at a second run, by which time the track dried up. The average over the return run was 213.190 miles/hr with exit speed close to 220 miles/hr.

--- 213.190 MPH run! ---
Track was smooth but really slippery this morning and I couldn't get KillaJoule up to more than 169 mph. This was still a new record, so we got a return run. At that point, the track had dried up and traction was great. Since I did my qualifying run on the short track (starting at mile 3 with a 2 mile run-up), I had to make the return on the short track.

I run full throttle from start, and the bike just kept accelerating. The average over the flying mile was 213.190 mph. It was accelerating through the entire timed mile and the exit speed was probably close to 220 (my meter showed 201 mph entering and 211 exiting, but that is obviously not correct, it typically is correct so it must have been front wheel slip or the heat making the electronic speedo get out of calibration). 

We are making a new attempt tomorrow, this time starting from zero to get a 4.5 mile run-up. If the planets line up and luck is with us, we have a good chance for a record of over 200 mph.

// Eva & Bill with our great team Mike, Kent, Alicia, Tim, Debbie and Lena

Photo: Tim Eckert

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=428255040544423&set=a.134928633210400.12094.134690893234174&type=1&theater

 

Fastest electric motorcycle in the world? Depends on how you define it

Kevin Clemens of Lake Elmo MI is seeking to set the national land speed record for electric motorcycles - at 100 miles/hr.  His motorcycle is a fairly typical motorcycle conversion, with an Agni motor and an Alltrax controller, though he was careful with the weight keeping that under 150 kilograms.  However the head-scratcher here is the claim that he owns the land speed record for electric motorcycles (61 miles/hr) and plans to up that record to over 100 miles/hr at Bonneville this year.  Okay, has he not heard of Lightning Motorcycles and the 215 miles/hr record they set in 2011?  And what about Chip Yates and his set of four speed records including an average of 196.420 miles/hr?

Turns out you have to read down in the fine print of the article in the Twin Cities Pioneer Press that's showcasing Clemens' effort.  He is competing in the "lowest weight category" for electric motorcycles, those weighing under 150 kilograms.  Lightning Motorcycles are way above that category, and as for Chip Yates he does hold the FIM record for bikes weighing between 150-300 kilograms, at 187.142 miles/hr with fairings, and 173.574 miles/hr with no fairings.

Kevin Clemens poses for a photo in front of his custom-made electric motorcycle in Lake Elmo, Minn., on Thursday, August 9, 2012. It's a modified Kawasaki Ninja running on 100 volts and up to 350 amps. He's hoping to break 100mph, a new electric motorcycle speed record, on the salt flats this year. In the background is an electric motorcycle he made last year. (Pioneer Press: Ben Garvin)

Well then, what about Kevin Clemens?  He built a bike last year that set the record in this class at 61.534 miles/hr, and has built a new bike hoping for a new record.

The new bike is built on a 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 250 that's said to feature parts that aren't off the shelf -- "a specially made Agni motor that just arrived from India, expensive lithium polymer batteries and a state-of-the-art, never-before-made Alltrax controller."  Reading between the lines of this, it's likely that Agni sent him one of the super-dooper Agni motors that aren't on the price list yet, and that Alltrax built him a special controller.

What he says on his website is: "The batteries consist of 96 lithium polymer cells of the sort more commonly found in radio controlled model aircraft. The permanent magnet DC electric motor is a lightweight yet high performance unit produced by Agni Motors."  The pictures are too-low a resolution to tell much, other than the build is similar to that in The Secrets of El Ninja.

http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_21284512/worlds-fastest-electric-motorcycle-kevin-clemens-lake-elmo?source=rss

http://thevelocityworkshop.com/Home.html

http://thevelocityworkshop.com/100_mph_Electric_Moto.html

KillaJoule achieves 188 miles/hr at Loring Timing Association speed trials

KillaCycle Racing took the KillaJoule to the Loring Timing Association speed trials last week, setting a  top speed of 188.063 miles/hr.  The KillaJoule is a fully streamlined electric motorcycle.

In postings on their Facebook page (see links below) Eva explained that "KillaJoule ran mechanically absolutely perfectly. It ran straight as a string, stable and strong." Unfortunately they had a problem where "it shut down" if held at full throttle for a long time. Eva wrote "We believe that we have made a mistake while setting up the extremely sophisticated Rinehart motor controllers. These are state-of-the-art AC controllers and have a large number of parameters that can be tuned to give exactly the throttle response and behavior we want. If these parameters are set so they conflict, it can result in an unexpected shut down. We couldn't figure it out on the track, but we are quite sure that it is simply a stupid little mistake somewhere in the setup. Except for that user-error, the Rinehart controllers and the gorgeous EVO motor work wonderfully. "

Eva went on to say the KillaJoule is quite capable of speeds well over 200 miles/hr. Being unable to hold full throttle for long made it impossible to achieve the speeds KillaJoule is capable of running.

We see they're planning to return to the BUB Speed Trials at Bonneville in late August.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=414477155255545&set=a.134928633210400.12094.134690893234174&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=414141818622412&set=a.413866245316636.82082.134690893234174&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=414141748622419&set=a.413866245316636.82082.134690893234174&type=1&theater

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=414141721955755&set=a.413866245316636.82082.134690893234174&type=1&theater

While it's a motorcycle, it's a three wheeler due to this sidecar-like thing

--- Lovely Land Speed racing at Loring --- 
Having a great time at Loring. Most racer-friendly land speed event imaginable. Most sensible, thorough and friendly tech-inspection we ever had. As any Bonneville land speed racer will tell you, tech inspection is in best case painful and can be horrible. Not so at Loring. They want you to be safe, for sure, but they are not out to prove how smart they are or how stupid you are. Totally professional. No big egos. We are definitely coming back.   

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=413861818650412&set=a.134928633210400.12094.134690893234174&type=1&theater

--- KillaJoule is race ready! --- http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=410541388982455&set=a.134928633210400.12094.134690893234174&type=1&theater

OSU's Buckeye Electric Motorcycle sets ECTA electric motorcycle speed record

The Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team set an East Coast Timing Association (ECTA) speed record for electric motorcycles, July 8, 2012.  The record speed was 144.352mph at the East Coast Timing Association Ohio Mile Track located in Wilmington, Ohio.  The team is claiming to now hold the title of fastest collegiate electric motorcycle, but I believe that should be contextualized by saying "within the East Coast Timing Association".  I believe there are collegiate electric motorcycle teams which have set faster times at Bonneville salt flat events.

This beat the teams 2011 record of 112.349mph by 30 miles/hr.  The new record is in the "Altered Electric A3" class.

The increase was due primarily to having borrowed a FlightPower lithium cobalt oxide battery pack from Lawless Industries.  Shawn Lawless is an electric drag race vehicle builder and racer, and has been supporting this team for a couple years.

Asst. Prof. Marcello Canova, faculty advisor, “The latest ECTA speed record is a fantastic achievement for the team, and an important learning experience for the design of the new electric race motorcycle. Most of all, it shows the skills, ingenuity, and resilience of this student group, able to build an electric bike from ground up in less than two years and achieve two speed records.”

The teams goals are now moving to: a) build a new bike that can go faster than 150 miles/hr (a feat few electric motorcycles have done), and b) race in the Isle of Man TT ZERO race.

http://car.osu.edu/node/310

KillaJoule Racing going for electric motorcycle land speed record at Loring LSR event

KillaJoule Racing just announced their next event is the Loring Land Speed Record event at the former Loring Air Force Base.  The racing action is from July 13-15.

The event is formatted differently from Bonneville.  Where Bonneville is on salt, and records the average time over a mile (flying mile), the Loring event is on what used to be the runway of an Air Force Base, and your speed is measured at the end of a 1.5 mile run.  This makes it more like a loooong drag race.

See www.lta-lsr.com for event information.

Loring Timing Association adopts NEDRA classification system for electric vehicles

"The LTA is happy to announce that we have revised our electric vehicle classifications. We looked at various electric vehicle racing organizations and chose to adopt the classification system used by the National Electric Drag Racing Association, www.nedra.com due to their fifteen years of experience in electric drag racing and record keeping and their system has proved to be the most functional. We expect to see more electrics showing up at The Maine Event this coming season due to the inclusion of all NEDRA voltage classes as opposed to the customary vehicle weight classes."

The LTA rules book is shared with the ECTA and ECTA, all three of which are land speed racing organizations that do not operate on the salt flats out west. 

The LTA operates, in Maine, on what is the longest asphalt long-speed-racing track in the world.  It looks like a former airport, and has a total length almost 3 miles long.

Brigham Young students set electric land speed record with their electric car

Brigham Young University officials have announced that their student-built electric car has set another Bonneville speed record.  The car, nicknamed “Electric Blue” was built by BYU engineering students and was competing in the Streamliner E1 class.  The BYU team had no problem busting the 130 MPH barrier. Their two runs had an average speed of 155.8 MPH with one of the runs clocking in at blazing 175 MPH.

Bullet-shaped electric car sets speed record

American Students Set New Electric Vehicle Land Speed Record

 

BYU-student-built electric car sets 156 mileland speed record at Salt Flats

An electric car designed and built by Brigham Young University Engineering students set a world land speed record for its weight class.  The record was 155.8 mph averaged over its two required qualifying runs, with a maximum speed of 175 mph.

The team was led by recently retired associate professor Perry Carter who taught at BYU for over 30 years.  The record resulted from seven years of work by over 130 students, overseen by Carter.  “This is a wonderful closure to 31 years of teaching at BYU and many projects,” Carter said after the record was certified. “But this is the one that takes the cake. I’m done.”

The car is called a streamliner, meaning it was designed with proper aerodynamics to reduce air resistance and maximize efficiency.  The lightweight carbon fiber body was modeled by students in a computerized virtual wind tunnel.

The car is named "Electric Blue," and competes in the "E1" class, which includes cars weighing less than 1,100 pounds.  There were no prior certified records in this class, despite earlier runs by both the BYU and other teams.

“Students who study music need to give concerts, students who study dance need to perform, and students who study engineering need to engineer things and compete to see how they work,” said Carter, the team mentor. “Experiential education is a key aspect of every program.”

Source:

BYU-student-built electric car sets land speed record at Salt Flats

Ohio State Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team sets ECTA speed record

The Ohio State Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team competed a couple weekends ago in a land speed record event held in Maxton NC by the East Coast Timing Association.   They achieved a speed of 112.349 miles/hr setting a record, within the ECTA, for electric motorcycles.

The results show a second team from James Madison University participated.  JMU has not issued a press release.

 

Press Release

The Ohio State Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team has set an East Coast Timing Association (ECTA) record for electric motorcycles. The certified record is 112.349mph (180.79kph).

After only 11 months at work, the newly formed team of undergraduate and graduate students built an all-electric motorcycle to compete in ECTA’s Omega class, known as the altered partial streamlined class. Students used real-world engineering process to design, build, re-modify, and test the motorcycle, with the goal of achieving maximum high speeds.

“We’re very happy with our record of 112mph. And with further tuning, our motorcycle can reach even higher speeds with its current load of lithium polymer battery cells,” says Sean Ewing, team captain and fourth year electrical engineering student.

ECTA, located in Maxton, North Carolina, holds five meets per year, at which public, private, and student teams compete with various vehicles in an attempt to break speed records. Vehicles must pass inspections, then are given time on the track.

After this first experience the team is headed back to Ohio State to continue work on the motorcycle. “The ECTA record is an outstanding result, especially considering that the Electric Motorcycle Race Team has barely one year of life. The result obtained at Maxton represents a reward for the hard work and the commitment shown by the team members through the year, but also a great starting point to launch the team into an exciting new season,” says Marcello Canova, faculty advisor and mechanical engineering professor. The team plans to continue work on the motorcycle, improving battery management function and maximizing torque for next season.

Other competition results included James Madison University, which achieved 92mph on an all-electric motorcycle in the same class.

“Although we started as a small team, we have built a solid base of dedicated students,” said Ewing, noting that the team gets its cohesiveness from its diversity of majors, which include engineering, business, and photography. “With this record, we’ve set a benchmark for next year; we have a lot of momentum and a lot of talent.”

About the Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team

The Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team is a student-led team at the Ohio State University, based out of the Center for Automotive Research.

Specifications for the 2011 vehicle:

• Vehicle name: RW1
• Frame: 2007 MV AGusta F4
• Motor: Remy HVH250
• Motor Controller: Tritium WaveSculptor 200
• Batteries: 460VDC (peak charge), 35Ah battery pack consisting of 784 Lithium Polymer Cells
• Battery Monitoring System: custom, student-designed, on-board with SD card storage
• Battery Management System: custom, student-designed, off-board
• Data Acquisition System: Starlane Stealth GPS-3

About the East Coast Timing Association

The East Coast Timing Association located in Maxton, North Carolina was formed by two Bonneville racers, with the idea of providing its members a place to run speed trials in the eastern half of the United States. Originally a World War II air base runway, it is now an event race course. The one mile long race course has a hard concrete surface with an elevation of 210 feet above sea. The organization will be moving to Wilmington, Ohio for the 2012 season, with details released at a later date.

 

 

Source:

Ohio State Buckeye Electric Motorcycle Race Team sets ECTA speed record

http://www.ecta-lsr.com/RecordsMoto3.php