Segway Racing Motoczysz was the team to beat after the qualifier round of the 2011 Isle of Man SES TT Zero race with teams riders Mark Miller and Michael Rutter sitting on top of the qualifying session, holding first and second positions of the nine entrants in the zero-emmission field.
On race day, they stormed home to win 1st and 2nd place in the TT Zero. Michael Rutter hit a top speed of 149.5 mph and a triple lap speed of almost 100 mph - a new record for an electric bike.
The TT Zero was introduced two years ago to this most prestigious of motorcycle races, where petrol bikes have been competing for more than 100 years (see our previous article here).
Here's an excerpt from
MTD's article about the win:
Segway MotoCzysz Pirelli Shod Electric Bike Nudges 100MPH Mark at TT
Pirelli BSB star Michael Rutter took his Segway MotoCzysz machine to an Electric bike record 99.6mph lap, just missing out on a £10,000 award for the first triple figure lap, at the Isle of Man TT today. His team-mate Mark Miller made it a Pirelli 1-2 in this innovative race event.
Michael, who choose a Pirelli Diablo Superbike ‘slick’ rear and Pirelli Diablo SuperCorsa treaded front tire, remarked, “99.6 mph, that’s the story of my life! I tried to conserve battery life and stay smooth, it’s a totally different way of riding but I really enjoyed it. We only saw the bike on Wednesday, so I think if we had more time there would be more to come set-up wise.”
The machine also hit an impressive 149.5mph on the Sulby Speed Trap at the hands of Rutter, who is more used to his 200mph Riders Bathams Ducati which he runs on Pirelli tires in both the TT and British Superbike Championship.
Pirelli tires were chosen by the majority of the grid as their steel belt construction is renowned for their low rolling resistance, essential in this power sapping electric race.
"Michael is a wily old fox and I know he will be gutted to have missed the 100mph, but he looked like he really enjoyed it and logged another TT win,” Jason Griffiths, Pirelli’s UK Racing Manager, added. “This new technology is so interesting to bike manufacturers and indeed our engineers are also intrigued back at the factory.”
The final times for the first 5 racers to finish demonstrate just how far ahead the Segway Motocxysz Team was of the competition:
- 1st place Michael Rutter (Segway Motocxysz) 22 min 44 sec, average speed of 99.6mph
- 2nd place Mark Miller (Segway Motocxysz) 23 min 02 sec, average speed of 98.3 mph
- 3rd place George Spence (Iron Horse Ecotricity) 25 min 36 sec, average speed of 88.4 mph
- 4th place Adrian Brew (BMW MIT EVT) 28 min 36 sec and an average speed of 79.2 mph
- 5th place Yoshinari Matsushita (Team Prozza) 32 min 24 sec, average speed of 70.0 mph
