Pikes Peak top racer, Carlin Dunne, switches to electric with Lightning Motorcycles

Lightning Motorcycles has signed up a new rider for the Pikes Peak Hill Climb at the end of June.  The rider, Carlin Dunne, is a top choice as he is the current all time record holder, and two-time consecutive champion of the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.  Hence, this not just "Lightning adds another rider" but a top racer in the Hill Climb community is choosing to race electric, rather than race gas.

The 2013 Hill Climb was already looking like a tipping point for electric racing, with many electric cars and electric motorcycles entering the race, and with two electric teams predicting they'll win the Hill Climb outright.   This makes it look even more so.

"I have a chance to be a part of something even bigger, to prove something to the rest of the world by riding this amazing electric bike. And I have to say, I've been testing it for a month, and it's insane. It's power and acceleration is like nothing I've ever ridden. When you light that fuse, hang on" said Dunne.

Dunne is a life-long racer who has risen to the top of several racing genres including the Baja 1000, mountain bike racing, and the Pikes Peak Hill Climb.  The first year he entered that race he won, as a rookie, and won again the second year setting a time/speed record that still stands today.

"I still can't believe our good fortune in teaming up with a guy like Carlin. Not only is he the top talent, but he's a great guy. I'd root for him even if he were riding for someone else. But this is much bigger story than Carlin, or Lightning. This is a historic moment for the world. It's the tipping point in global transportation as we know it. The very best guy in the world at this race who won and set records on gas bikes, has chosen us, an electric motorcycle company, to try and beat his own records. Combustion engines are long from dead, but they were just passed by in performance" said Art Haynie, director of marketing for Lighting.

Richard Hatfield, Founder and CEO said, "This technology will drive the future of racing. Gas engines have been around for over 100 years and pushed to their limits - and they’re at a late stage of development. But we're just starting with this. It's like we're in the early 1900's all over again when it comes to the development of electric racing - and we're already breaking new ground. We always knew what we had in the performance of our electric bikes, but it takes time for the world to comprehend and accept a huge change like this. It took 50 years for people to accept a car was better transportation than a horse. Now here is the top rider in the world at this race, at the top of his game, putting his seal of approval on us by leaving combustion and going electric."

Chip Yates is also racing with Lightning at Pikes Peak. Actually ... what's going on is that Chip Yates is being replaced with Carlin Dunne after Yates quit.

McGuiness set to break 110 miles/hr in 2013 TT ZERO, and beat MotoCzysz

The results in the TT ZERO are just getting better with every practice round.  In Monday's practice round, John McGuiness's bike was being registered by the transponders so we can report that he achieved a 109.038 miles/hr lap speed, beating Michael Rutter's 107.602 miles/hr lap speed, and Mark Miller's 105.806 miles/hr lap speed.

To make this clear - John McGuiness turned in a 109.038 miles/hr result in practice, making it very likely the 110 miles/hr lap speed goal appears very likely to smashed in the 2013 TT ZERO.  The 2012 lap record was in the 104 miles/hr range, set by Mike Rutter in 2012 with McGuiness coming in second that year.  As we see in the next paragraph, Rutter is turning in 107 miles/hr lap speeds, and Miller is a bit slower than Rutter.  Hence, it looks like McGuiness will beat Rutter and Miller both, and it looks like the MotoCzysz winning streak is over.  But of course this is racing and we cannot be certain of anything until it actually happens.  For example Rutter and Miller could be holding back...?  Maybe?

The IOMTT officials still haven't have posted official results from Saturday's practice round, making it difficult to letting us assess improvements over the week.  Both Rutter and Miller gave similar results today to what they achieved on Saturday (Rutter 107.82 miles/hr Saturday, 107.602 miles/hr today, Miller 104.xx miles/hr on Saturday, 105.82 miles/hr today).  McGuiness is showing a big gain, from 107.20 miles/hr on Saturday, to 109.04 miles/hr on Monday.  We didn't have any results for McGuiness on Saturday, so we're unable to compare that against his performance today.  This performance is much stronger than Friday's practice round, and all three are soundly beating the 104ish miles/hr record set by Rutter in 2012.

Because one of the guys in the infernal combustion engine racing had a spectacular day, the Manx Radio crew spent quite awhile on reliving his win in a race just before the TT ZERO, and not covering for example the Sulby Speed trap times.  They did give some lap time numbers at several points along the lap.

These are unofficial lap speed numbers as written down while listening to Manx Radio.  I'll update this if/when the IOMTT officials post official results.

	Glen Helen	Ramsey Hairpin	Final
John McGuiness - Mugen Shinden	?	?	109.038 miles/hr
Mike Rutter - MotoCzysz	111 miles/hr	126 miles/hr	107.602 miles/hr
Mark Miller - MotoCzysz	105 miles/hr	124 miles/hr	105.806 miles/hr
Rob Barber - Buckeye	94 miles/hr	108 miles/hr	91.768 miles/hr
George Spence - Ion Horse	89 miles/hr	89 miles/hr	85.484 miles/hr
Chris McGahan - Vercamoto	?	?	81.150 miles/hr
Ian Lougher - KOMATTI	?	?	80.259 miles/hr

Mugen, MotoCzysz, smashing 2012's TT ZERO lap time record, 110 miles/hr lap speed in sight

John McGuiness (Mugen) during Friday's practice
Courtesy IOMTT.COM

Both MotoCzysz and Mugen are smashing the TT ZERO record lap speed they'd set during the 2012 session.  During practice/qualifying on Friday and Saturday, both teams gave lap speeds significantly faster than the 2012 record.  And what's even more interesting is that Mugen's John McGuiness seems to be beating MotoCzysz's Mark Rutter.  MotoCzysz is in for some serious competition this year.

I listened live to Saturday's practice - and it's clear all the teams, not just MotoCzysz and Mugen, have improved considerably since last year.

Because the TT race is such a long lap (38ish miles, winding around the Isle of Man and over the top of the mountain), Manx Radio has announcers scattered along the course, and the broadcast cycles through the announcers in order along the track.  The announcer at Ramsey Hairpin, at the base of the mountain, described all the bikes as handling this turn much better than last year.  This is a hairpin turn that begins the ascent up the mountain, the bikers have to slow almost to a stop and then accelerate up the slope.  Previously the electric bikes had problems with this corner, but not this year.

Sulby Speed Trap times were 135.5 miles/hr for Mark Miller (MotoCzysz), 125.9 miles/hr for Michael Rutter (MotoCzysz), 99.9 miles/hr for Chris Mcgahan (Vercamoto), 98.7 miles/hr for Paul Owen (Brunel Univ).

I haven't seen final results published by the IOMTT staff yet.  However, the announcer reported that Rutter had the fastest lap time, 107.82 miles/hr.  Also that George Spence, riding the Ion Horse, finished on Saturday with a 83.32 miles/hr lap time.

But this is unclear because John McGuiness's bike (Mugen) wasn't being registered by the timing computers.  He may well have had a faster speed trap time, and faster lap time, and we won't know until the final results are published.  Now that the results have been published (see below) we see he came in 2nd that day, with a 102.20 miles/hr lap time.  From Friday's results, Rutter had a 104.63 miles/hr lap time, and McGuiness had a 105.65 miles/hr lap time.

Mark Miller finished with a 104.40 miles/hr lap speed in 3rd place 21ish minutes lap time, I don't know the speed.  However, in the final speed point he was recorded going 29ish miles/hr indicating his bike probably (educated guess) had run real low on electricity.  At 21ish minutes, he did finish a little faster than on Friday when he put in a 22:07 minutes lap time, for a 102.33 miles/hr average lap speed.

Rob Barber, riding the Buckeye entry from The Ohio State University, came in last with a 70.07 miles/hr lap time.

I'll update this post when they unveil final results for Saturday's round.

The bottom line is that the top three bikes are significantly beating last years results, and are showing significant improvements between Friday and Saturday.

MotoCzysz's goal for 2013 is to not only continue their winning streak, but to beat a 110 miles/hr lap time.  They're in for a tough competition with Mugen for the #1 spot on the podium, but the 110 miles/hr lap time is within sight.

They have one more practice round on Monday afternoon, and the race is scheduled for Wednesday.

For friday's results see http://www.electricracenews.com/2013/06/mugen-beats-motoczysz-in-2013-tt-zero.html

Hydrogen fuel cell race car, GreenGT H2, pulls out of 24 Hrs of Le Mans

GreenGT H2

Those of you hoping for a hydrogen fuel cell powered race car, in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, prepare to be disappointed.  The GreenGT entry in that race, a hydrogen fuel cell race car, has just pulled out of the event.  While they were able to show the race car on the track, one reads between the lines that they weren't quite ready for a 24 hours endurance race.

According to a press release issued on Saturday June 1, the team will continue testing the GreenGT H2 until June 5.  Performance is in line with test bench results.  However, the press release explained that "the highly complex phase of fine tuning the high power hydrogen fuel cell is in conflict with the on track endurance test programme, an essential requirement for participation in a demanding race like the Le Mans Classic event."

Managing director Jean-Francois Weber saying: "The GreenGT H2 is already showing great potential and has great scope for improvement. However, the complexity and cost of this unique model requires the use of extremely rigorous methods and very time-consuming new procedures.  We are only at the beginning of this adventure, and it is essential for us not to cut corners and continue the development of the GreenGT H2."

Jean Michel Bouresche, Sales & Marketing Director of GreenGT, says: "First of all, we wish to thank ACO for its confidence in GreenGT. Box 56 is a splendid initiative for encouraging innovative technologies. The GreenGT H2 fits perfectly in to this scenario and, although the Le Mans 2013 event has come too soon for us, we are actively working with ACO on a worldwide presentation programme for the GreenGT H2. The names of world famous drivers will be announced at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. They will be our ambassadors for the presentation of this technology of the future."

Vincent Beaumesnil, Sports Director of ACO, says: "The technology of the GreenGT H2 is perfectly in line with the spirit of innovation that ACO intends to promote with Box 56. It works, and the ACO was right in believing in the technological merits of this project. But the 24 Hours of Le Mans is a high endurance event, and it is premature for the GreenGT H2 to take up this challenge. However, we will continue to support this initiative and, together with GreenGT, we will soon announce a world wide demonstration tour which will take place during the same week as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and, possibly, an unranked presence at the start of a World Endurance Championship race, as the regulations allow the presence of this type of vehicle on the starting grid."

Beijing welcomed as host city in Formula E series

On Saturday, Formula E welcomed the selection of Beijing as a host city for the inaugural 2014 season of the electric car race series.  Formula E is an electric race car series using Formula 1 style race cars, with electric drive trains, racing on city streets.  The race route for Beijing has not been finalized, but they intend for it to be routed around major landmarks.

Artists rendition of Formula E racing in Beijing

Three months ago Formula E had announced 8 of 10 the host cities, and just two weeks ago they announced the 9th.  The full roster of cities will be presented to the FIA in September for approval.

In an earlier version of this post I described Beijing as having been chosen as the 10th host city.  I misremembered that Beijing was one of the 8 cities initially announced.  That means the 10th host city is still up in the air.

Mugen beats MotoCzysz in 2013 TT ZERO qualifying practice round

Isle of Man TT Week is underway, and the TT Zero crew has had their first practice round on Friday.

Despite the MotoCzysz goal of hitting a 110 miles/hr lap, practice results fell a little short, and Mugen even came in a little ahead.  Of course the team can use this to adjust something letting them come out ahead on Wednesday.  What counts is what happens that day.

MotoCzysz reveals 2013 E1pc electric superbike at TT Week opener on Isle of Man

MotoCzysz, unfortunately without Michael Czysz who stayed in Portland to deal with an illness, is at the Isle of Man this week to seek their fourth TT ZERO win.  As is traditional to them, they unveiled the new 2013 E1pc electric superbikes during the TT Week opening ceremony.

New 2013 MotoCzysz E1pc - courtesy iomtt.com

 “Since last year’s win,” said Ray Crepeau, General Manager for MotoCzysz “a new strategy has been in the works. Our team has been quietly preparing bikes, targeting an average lap speed of 110 mph.”

The picture provided by iomtt.com (above) doesn't give us much to go on for what it looks like, though it's nice to see the familiar faces of the team members.  Going by the press release, the team managed to cram more energy into the bike without increasing the weight.

They use different packs for different scenarios.  For the Isle of Man, MotoCzysz uses "energy" batteries that pack more kilowatt-hours per kilogram, while for regular races they use "power" batteries that deliver more kilowatts (not kilowatt-hours) at a time.  By putting more energy in without increasing weight, it means that Kokam (their battery supplier) has developed cells with dramatically higher energy density.  Enough for a 20% energy capacity increase without increasing weight.

 “We are missing Michael Czysz this year for sure,” said Rutter. “But the new bikes look very, very fast and I can’t wait to see what they’ll do!” Miller was equally impressed with the new equipment. “Once again, I am truly in awe,” said Miller. “For the past four years the MotoCzysz crew has consistently raised the bar, and this year is no exception. I can’t wait to climb on and tackle the mountain course! It’s going to be a bit different without Michael Czysz here but from the looks of things the Team have sorted the bikes and its now my turn to go to work.”

 MotoCzysz founder and CEO, Michael Czysz, recently revealed a bit of team strategy:
“2013 is as much about bike handling as it is about energy onboard. Adding range is simple, you add more batteries; but to achieve that without adding weight was an engineering feat.” More important still is bike handling and dynamics, where Team MotoCzysz has made huge strides. “The 2013 E1pc handling rivals any bike on the mountain, allowing Michael and Mark to easily carve the twisty mountain course faster than ever.”