Isle of Man TT folks give us an update on the TT Zero

Posted: May 19, 2013 in Events, Tracks
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Well it’s that time of year and the festival starts in just over a week.  Fortunately we finally have official confirmation of the teams that are coming this year.  This is the first year that we have not heard over 20 bikes were coming only for those numbers to steadily fall.  And I, for one, am grateful.  But other than building up the battle between MotoCzysz and Mugen, they let us know that University teams Kingston and Brunel are coming back but are going to have to face new comers Ohio State and Imperial College.  So with the heavy weights and University teams accounted for who is coming back with serious efforts for 2013?  Well, ManTTx, Vercamoto, Komatti-Mirai Racing, and Lightning Motors.  I am actually a bit excited this year as my optimism has overcome my common sense and I really believe most, if not all, of these teams will finish the race.  Scuttlebutt has it that more than a few teams were caught out last year by the constantly changing start times, caused by the same weather conditions that eventually lead to the Senior TT being canceled for the first time ever.  Many of these teams don’t have more than one or two complete laps around the island, but again, I feel this year will be different.  10 teams, 11 bikes, and SES is back as the title sponsor.  Now that sounds like a race.

Here’s the release the IOMTT put up:

Motoczysz and Mugen square up for TT Zero title fight

MotoCzysz, the dominant force in clean emissions racing, and Japanese powerhouse Mugen are gearing up for another battle in the 2013 SES TT Zero Race.  Last year both teams shattered the 100mph lap mark – a feat it took internal combustion engine machines fifty years to achieve – with all three podium placed riders posting times in excess of the magic ton.

Michael Rutter won in 2011 for MotoCzysz and defended his title in 2012 but he was chased all the way by John McGuinness on the eye-catching Mugen Shinden.  John, who was making his electric bike debut, finished just 23 seconds behind Rutter at an average speed for the lap of 102.2mph.   Michael’s team mate and 2010 TT Zero Champion Mark Miller was only 15 seconds back on John to complete the remarkable “centurion” podium.  As defending champion Michael Rutter starts the 2013 SES sponsored event from the pole position on the all-new 013 e1pc. The MotoCzysz team believe this year’s entry is capable of a sub 20:35 lap – putting them on target for an average lap speed in excess of 110mph.  To put that ambition into perspective Michael’s lap record from the Lightweight TT on a 650cc Kawasaki stands at 115.554 mph.  Michael will, once again, be joined by America’s Mark Miller on the startline where Mark’s bike will carry the number two plate.  John McGuinness will again spearhead the Mugen effort, on the Shinden Ni, their 2013 machine. With an all new chassis and power train as well as completely new bodywork Mugen are confident it will be capable of adding at least ten miles an hour to the 2012 benchmark.

Six countries will be represented in the 2013 SES TT Zero with ManTTx and local rider Dave Moffitt representing the Isle of Man, Italian outfit Vercamoto and Chris McGahan and last year’s debutant competitors Komatti-Mirai Racing Team from Japan with Japanese national Yoshinari Matsushita. USA based Lighting also return after missing the 2011 meeting.

University outfit Kingston, which has competed in every event since the electric bike inception in 2009 and won the University prize in 2011 as well as finishing on the podium that year, will again campaign their ‘Ion Horse’ machine. The university outfit went close to the 100mph time in last year’s qualifying session but ultimately ran out of power just 800 metres short of the finish line. George Spence will again represent the University outfit.

A strong University entry also sees Brunel returning to the race in 2013 with Welsh rider Paul Owen. Other University outfits include ‘Buckeye Current’ from Ohio State University with 2009 Race winner Rob Barber and Imperial College who will be represented by Spain’s Antonio Maeso.

Mark Guthrie, MD of race sponsors SES Satellite Leasing Ltd, commented: “SES is delighted to once again support the SES TT Zero Race. As a company we pride ourselves on innovation and groundbreaking technology and it’s clear that there is going to be real competition at the front of the field again in 2013. Whatever the result, all the teams can be proud of their efforts as it’s a real achievement just to get a bike on the starting grid.”

ESBK Studios Special: Round 4 of the M1GP with Jeremiah Johnson

Posted: May 16, 2013 in Events, Manufacturers, Podcast, Riders, Series, Teams, Tracks
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Photo by Julian Walter of julianwalter.com, permission to use given by BE-EV.com Racing

I catch up with “JJ” while he was driving back across the country on his way back home to Florida.

http://ttxgpmatters.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/esbk-studios-special-round-4-of-the-m1gp-with-jerimiah-johnson.mp3

RoadRacingWorld.com: “Cancer Treatments Will Force Michael Czysz To Miss TT Zero At The Isle Of Man TT”

Posted: May 14, 2013 in Blah, blah, blah, Manufacturers, Riders, Teams
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Here’s RoadRacingWorld.com’s article.

Of all the teams that I disagree with and that give me the wtf’s the most, MotoCzysz, hell Micheal Czysz himself, is at the top of the list.  But bench racing is one thing, and life threatening illness is something completely different.  These day’s I am not sure if anyone reading this hasn’t had cancer touch their lives one way or another.  I know I have had it touch my family.  So to try to say something that communicates the seriousness of cancer would probably just end up sounding condescending.  If you have even met Mr. Czysz then you know he is passionate and pretty darn fit.  I am hopeful this will aid him in his fight, and is the way he will continue to be for a long time to come.  From the bottom of my heart I wish you, Micheal Czysz, and your family the absolute best and look forward to seeing you folks come out the other side if this fight with a big Win.

Sincerly,

Richard Dort

Why the 2013 Battle Between MotoCzysz and Mugen Might Not Be Just About the Bikes

Posted: May 14, 2013 in Blah, blah, blah, Manufacturers, Teams
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As you may very well have seen in the moto blogoshpere MotoCzysz has not only done the expected and announced their 2013 TT Zero run against Mugen, but also announced their intentions of running this year’s FIM eRoadRacing series.  Now the first report came from Asphalt and Rubber and they said, “Also announcing its intention to race in the new 2013 eRoadRacing World Cup, MotoCzysz has enlisted the help of Shane Turpin and Steve Rapp for riding duties at Laguna Seca, Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and Miller Motorsports Park.”  This was followed by a David Heron story where he said, “The MotoCzysz press release does not commit to anything in the eRoadRacing series other than the Laguna Seca event.  And of course we had to wait until Moto-USA or RoadRacing World put their stories up until we could actually read the press release.  But confused yet?  I certainly was until Susanna Schick of Gas2 went to their offices in Portland, OR and did an interview with the general manager were she says, “Last week they announced their 2013 rider lineup, making it clear that they would like to race the full US season of the eRoadRacing series but for now are targeting IOM TT Zero and the Laguna Seca round of eRoadRacing.”  Ahh, OK, now we know the score.

He’s where the speculation comes in a bit.  If you listened to my interview with Colin Whittamore of Mugen then you know Mugen is a racing company.  They make parts to make your race car or motorcycle go faster.  They see electric technologies as being very much a part of the future and are embarking on this venture now to get a head start on ev technologies and how they apply to racing.  This is very similar to how the GM of MotoCzysz describes the direction they are going in with their company, in his interview with Susanna.  So now the TT Zero is not just the battle ground for who has the best bike around the island, but a battle between two companies vying for business.  One with deep roots in racing but new to ev tech, and the other a young American start-up who has demonstrated their engineering and design prowess by dominating the TT Zero for the past three years.  Last year they may have just been battling for the trophy and bragging rights.  This year it may very well be for business as well.

But why are they now making such an effort for the eRR?  I believe the list of reasons is as long as your arm.  Some of it maybe that they now see they have rivals worthy of comparing themselves too.  And another I am certain is because of the FIM’s backing.  Micheal Czysz (based on my conversation with him in 2011) has never been particularly supportive of the TTXGP.  Never negative mind you, but not what I would call supportive.  Is that wrong or right?  I’ll leave that to you, as I don’t feels it’s my place.  If you have watched the movie “Charge”, you will know the Czysz family has been involved in motorcycle racing at one level or another for a long time and they may very well have insights we are not privy too.  I’m just calling it, “it is what it is.”  Moving on, if they only race Laguna Seca then it really isn’t any more than the same ol’ same ol’ from the company, only with two bikes and two top racers on them.  They show up and people ohh and ahh at their gorgeous bikes, they win or get second, get a some coverage in the press, and go home and back to work.  Basically a press stunt based on some good racing.  I am not convinced these folks are really satisfied with this, but they have budgets and work at the office to do.  However, they have made it very clear they want to race the whole season, even if it turns out they can’t.  Which brings me to another point.  This year is different.  This year MotoCzysz has hired two riders, and will have two bikes out there, and neither of the riders are Micheal Czysz.  And they have announced they will be going.  They never do that accept for the TT Zero.  I always wondered why as it seemed to only ever pissed the few fans off who would have made the extra effort to make the trip had they had know MotoCzysz would be there.  I know when I found out, it was the extra motivation I needed to pull the trigger on the plane ticket to get out to Miller in 2011.  Also there has been more twitter traffic which I feel is good, but who am I?  This year is different is all I can say for now.

But since we’ve dived head first into the rabbit hole, I think Brammo’s actions this year may prove to provide some insight.  They feel confident they are within reach of Lightning and MotoCzysz but are not happy with being within reach.  They want to beat them on the track.  They have two Continental Championships and a World Final.  They have proven they can and will show up and that their bikes are reliable enough to do the business regularly.  Now they want to be faster than everyone else.  And I suspect doing it with less power, as that is not what the riders have been asking for.  They seem happy with the power, even if Parker (their motor supplier) isn’t.  So in order to reach this goal they are racing with gas bikes in the oldest club racing series in the country, the AFM.  While Shelina was busting all of her goals on the the Empulse TTX and Prototype Engage all to pieces, EBoz and Steve-O didn’t reach their lap time goals, but ticked every other box that weekend.  This means they will have 2 full race weekends under their belts before the eRR season starts in July.  I wonder if MotoCzysz isn’t looking to do the something similar by racing the eRR in addition to the TT Zero.  In the UK, Bennett’s Bike Social blog has reported, “The new bike will be run by the Honda Racing team for Mugen out of Honda Racing’s UK headquarters in Louth, and then eventually make it to the Isle of Man TT for the TT Zero first practice on Friday May 31.  Mugen has allegedly spent an alleged £3 million on the Shinden project, hoping that this could be the bike to help John McGuinness on to TT win number 20.”  That’s a lot of money to throw around.  Frankly it’s enough to make all of the other elmoto race programs very jealous.  For a small company like MotoCzysz to compete with a well established company like Mugen, much less with them spending that much money, is a pretty darn big hurdle.  I suspect if everyone has indeed brought the fight to MotoCzysz in the eRR it came at a good time.  It will obviously be too late for the TT Zero, but learning about their opponent there and then going head to head with the best electric prototypes North America has to offer afterwards may just provide a competitive enough environment that will spur development at MotoCzysz to a high enough level to warrant spending the cash to go racing.  In other words, hopefully the racing in the eRR provides enough bang for the small company’s buck, and proves necessary in order to develop their technology to keep up with and/or ahead of Mugen in this field.

MotoCzysz clearly isn’t standing still having developed what sounds like a very exciting “2D” suspension components, and they claimed on twitter that for 2013 they had 20% more energy on board than in 2012, while weighing the same.  Mugen’s bike looks like they may very well have spent 3M pounds on the project as it looks much less like a refrigerator, and more like what we recognize as a motorcycle.  Both teams have claimed they are aiming for 110mph laps.

We will find out how things shake out in 2 more weeks time.

ESBK Studios: Episode 22 (Full) Interview with John Kennedy of RIT

Posted: May 12, 2013 in Manufacturers, Podcast, Series, Teams, Uncategorized
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Stolen from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=504123612970429&set=a.418954831487308.92485.413229888726469&type=1&theater

I get the low down on the Gang from New York.

http://ttxgpmatters.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/episode-22-full-interview-with-john-kennedy-of-rit.mp3

ESBK Studios: Episode 22 (Teaser) Interview with John Kennedy of RIT

Posted: May 11, 2013 in Manufacturers, Podcast, Series, Teams, Uncategorized
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Stolen from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=504123612970429&set=a.418954831487308.92485.413229888726469&type=1&theater

I get the low down on the Gang from New York.

http://ttxgpmatters.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/episode-22-teaser-interview-with-john-kennedy-of-rit.mp3

ESBK Studios Special: Post Race with Jeff Smith of SRI and then Brian Wismann of Brammo

Posted: May 10, 2013 in Events, Manufacturers, Podcast, Series, Teams, Tech, Tracks
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Provided by Parker

Photo credit to Oxymoron Photography

Interviews with Jeff Smith of SRI about the EV1 desert racer and Briam Wismann of Brammo about the past weekend battling the gas bikes head on with the Empulse RRs, the Empulse TTX, and Engage Prototype.  And some soap-boxing about a serious subject at the end.

http://ttxgpmatters.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/esbk-studios-special-post-race-with-jeff-smith-of-sri-and-then-brian-wismann-of-brammo.mp3

2013 Shinden Ni Paint Scheme Revealed

Posted: May 9, 2013 in Teams
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Courtesy of Mugen

Courtesy of Mugen

Hello all.  I love having cool things in my mail box when I get home.  I posted up their last press release and photos of the bike in plain back.  In the last release they said. “work will continue to finalise the body work.”  This caught not just my attention.  Only I wasn’t so sure they meant anything other than paint.  Well here’s photos of the final bike.  What do you think? Photos courtesy of Mugen below the press release.  Read the press release though.  They too, are aiming for over 110mph.

TEAM MUGEN – PRESS RELEASE
Programme:  TT Zero
Date:  09/05/2013
Release:Immediate
2013 TT Zero Challenger, MUGEN Shinden Ni Revealed
Mr Shin Nagaosa, president of M-Tec Co., Ltd (hereinafter called M-TEC) today publicly introduced for the first time the new EV bike “神電貳(ＳＨＩＮＤＥＮＮＩ)” designed to tackle the 2013 The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy TT Zero Challenge, which will be held from May 25th to Jun 7th, 2013. “神電貳（ＳＨＩＮＤＥＮＮＩ）” has been developed using the data acquired from the first challenge at the Isle of Man last year, and a series of wind-tunnel and engine bench testing programmes carried out since the 2012 event.

Since the prototype build the motorcycle has been running repeatedly at Internationally certified circuits in Japan in order to gauge the performance improvement gained with the aid of, not only weight-saving to the motorcycle itself, and also of the EV system, but also the optimization of the motor output characteristics, and an increase of energy content. Furthermore, revised aerodynamic parts will complement the overall performance package of the machine.

For 2013 John McGuinness, already a 19-time victor at the Isle of Man TT will again join with Team MUGEN as race rider in the quest to win the race, targeting an average speed of over 110 miles per hour.
_____________________________
TT Zero Challenge started in 2009 as a new class requiring the entrants to ride motorcycles with zero emission engines emitting no CO2. The race is run in a time-trial format over a course of approximately 60km of mixed terrain around the isle.

shinden_ni_2013_R-style_ss

previous 2013 photo of Mugen Shinden Ni

previous 2013 photo of Mugen Shinden Ni

20130417-2_thumb.jpg

ESBK Studios Special: Shelina Moreda Wraps up Brammo’s First AFM Weekend

Posted: May 6, 2013 in Events, Manufacturers, Podcast, Riders, Series, Teams, Tracks
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From Brammo’s Facebook page

Shelina gives us the rundown on Sunday’s happenings, from killing it on the TTX going from 14th to 7th,  to a 4th place on a completely unprepared, yet surprisingly up to the task, prototype Engage.  And as much insight into the going ons with the RRs that she could provide.  And as usual I ask numb questions about the track.

http://ttxgpmatters.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/esbk-studios-special-shelina-moreda-wrap-up.mp3

Final Thoughts on Brammo’s first Assault on the AFM

Posted: May 6, 2013 in Blah, blah, blah, Events, Manufacturers, Riders, Series, Teams, Tracks
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from Brammo’s Facebook page

I was a bit anxious after the last race Sunday.  The two Empulse RR riders weren’t going anywhere near as fast as I had thought they would.  I really thought we’d see low 1:40s, and even dared to think the AMA Daytona Sportbike class times of 1:38s per lap were possible.  Eboz got within 10 seconds of that time today.  What happened?  How did I get it that wrong?  More importantly did my unrealistic and very public expectations put undue stress on anyone?  And did I setup you, my audience, up for disappointment?  I have to be concerned, as people are reading this site now.  I broke both my highest one day and weekly traffic numbers today, which were previously set at the World Final in Daytona last October.  Then I focus on how the Brammo duo only got within only one second of Lightning’s qualifying time from the TTXGP round last year at about this time.  How did they not obliterate it?  Is power much more of an advantage at Sonoma than I thought?  Then I get a tweet from the man like he was reading my mind (or at least the blog).  They guy who seems to me to be set to become the Godfather of Electric Motorcycle racers, Eric Bostrom:

“@ttxgpfan Thanks for tuning in. Flawless weekend for the team and plenty of motor. Chassis is our focus to move forward in the field.”

OK, so the world wasn’t upside down.  Sonoma has proven to be a very different track than Thunderhill, but it’s still the chassis stupid.  Why then, when the 2013 Empulse RR is clearly a better handling bike than the early 2012 was it not able to match and crush Barney’s lap time when the old bike were so close at last year’s Laguna Seca round?  I went back and looked at the fastest AMA times from the previous year.  The 600 Supersports were running as fast as the 750 Superbikes were today.  Hell, the RR would have been lucky to brake the top five in qualifying for the Harley XR1200 class.  Turns out last year Barney was on fire there.  He didn’t get pole but still set 1:47 qualifying times on both the XR and Lightning, and then rode the XR to a 1:46 during the race.  So the Empulse has power on all of those bikes, accept the Lightning.  And it’s handling is much improved.  So what gives?  I think I have it . . . Weight.  If you look at the AMA classes and how close they are in lap times, I think you will see that less weight translates to faster lap times, mostly because of higher corner speed and quicker acceleration (change in speed not just going faster).  I am beginning to think this is the key to getting around Sonoma when compared to Laguna.  But that is a sketchy conclusion as Superbikes are always the fastest and the XRs are always the slowest no matter the track.  A better example can be seen when you look and see that the very lightweight eSS Zeros from last year would easily fall within the FIM’s qualifying cutoff scheme at Sonoma and but fell well short at Laguna (and were allowed to race anyway).  The Zeros had about 1/7th the horsepower and about half the weight of the Lightning bikes.  I suspect Laguna Seca hides weight and rewards horsepower more than Sonoma, and is why we have seen the prototypes take big chunks of time out at Laguna.  But we have not really seen that happen at Sonoma as weights haven’t dropped much but power has chassis have improved over the last few years.  However, from all reports the Lightning is heavier and more powerful and doesn’t have the handling of the Mission.  So this in counter intuitive.  All I can think of is that the Barnes used the Lighting’s power to counter it’s weight masterfully, and Sonoma may just suit the Lightning. I am certain the Brammo guys have taken every ounce out of the RR they could, so the only thing they can do is try to figure out how to get the bike to carry the extra weight through the corner faster, and that would be done through the chassis.  I think of as trying to make a modern Mustang corner like a GT40.  It’s a tall order, but there is room for improvement.  That is a pretty horrible analogy, but you get the idea.  There is more to this, and I am very curious about it.  As I have the time I will try to talk to people who have raced both tracks to try to get some more insight.

So all this “anxiety” and blabbering on about lap times is covering up what really happened this weekend.  Shelina Kicked some Gas on the TTX, and all the bikes ran flawlessly!  I didn’t hear of one hiccup.  None of the bike had to be reset mid race, a new charging scheme allowed flawless execution of charging all 4 bikes in a timely manner, and they prepped and raced 4 bikes for three riders in four classes with sometimes mad dashes to and fro from the SuperMoto track.  In none of the races today were these guys last!  Both RR’s did beat Lighting’s best race time and ran up to 9 seconds faster than at last year’s TTXGP race.  Although they got very few laps around the track as both Steve Atlas and Steve Rapp got launched in practice and qualifying.  Sonoma was a bad place for them last year and Brammo took its revenge on the track this weekend.  Also, we finally got to see the public racing debut of the Engage Prototype.  And it looks like Shelina took 4th if I am reading her twitter feed correctly.

From all accounts the team worked their tails off and didn’t spin a tire in the process.  The bikes ran flawlessly and the riders rode flawlessly.  There were no bobbles or flaws and they represented the elmoto world very well.  Bravo Zulu to those guys for what appears to have been a text book execution of a race weekend.

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