Starting with 2010 and for the next two subsequent years, Arai will make a limited edition Isle of Man TT series of helmet. Each helmet will be designed by Aldo Drudi, and will be limited to 500 helmets. The move is part of Araii’s sponsorship package with the IOMTT, and will see the venue get a cut of each helmet shown. First up for 2010 is this Arai RX-7 GP that features the Three Legs of Man symbol.
BMW announced today that it will send a factory backed team to compete in the Isle of Man’s Superbike and Senior TT’s. This announcement ends over 30 years of the Bavarian brand’s absence at the Isle of Man. For Austrian-based KTM, this will be their first time running at the Isle of Man TT. The KTM RC8 R will be entered in the Superstock, Superbike, and Senior TT’s. More after the jump.
MotoCzysz has confirmed today that they will be racing at the Isle of Man’s TT Zero event. The Portland based team has been hard at work on a new bike design that they feel not only has a chance of breaking the 100mph barrier, but possibly winning the event as well. MotoCzysz was a favorite in last year’s event, but failed to finish after suffering a failure to its Agni electric motor drive system. Learning from that hard taught lesson, Czysz & Co. are expected to return to the Isle of Man with their new 2010 E1pc, and tackle the Mountain Course once again.
The Isle of Man announced today that they will be adding the TT Zero clean emissions class to the historic Isle of Man TT race program. The Zero TT, like the rest of the IOMTT, will be run by ACU Events, Ltd and will use the FIM rules concerning electric motorcycles. Additionally, promotions for the Zero TT will be handled by the Department of Tourism and Leisure. Of particular note in this announcement is the Isle of Man’s dropping of TTXGP, which will not be involved in the 2010 series, but the DTL’s Martyn Quayle said in the press release that he acknowledges TTXGP’s hard work in the first zero emissions race at Isle of Man in June of 2009.
Early indications surrounding the announcement suggest that the decision by the Isle of Man to setup the TT Zero racing class stems from the Isle’s desire to distance itself and the historic race from the TTXGP brand, which has been in controversy both publicly with its split from the FIM, and privately with members of the motorcycle community. Given the TT’s heated history with the FIM, it is also of particular note that they will be adopting the international organization’s rules and regulations for the running of TT Zero, which could be a further indication from the Isle in distancing itself from the influence of TTXGP.
For MotoGP fans, Mark Neale’s Faster is probably the pinnacle of portraying two-wheels on the big screen (or in your living room). It chronicles the progression from two-stroke 500cc GP racing to the birth of MotoGP and four-stroke prototypes. Neale’s newest work, Charge, carries on with this same vein, and documents the world’s first electric motorcycle race, the TTXGP, at the Isle of Man TT last year.
Ewan McGregor is back narrating along with plenty of on-bike footage and candids with all your favorite e-moto personalities. Available in Spring 2010, this movie is sure to take up a spot on your DVD rack…we certainly can’t wait to see it. Trailer after the jump.
One of the most successful TT racers of the 1950’s and 1960’s, the Manx Norton dominated the 50cc and 350cc classes. This 350cc Model 40M features a “Featherbed” frame, and was raced in the 1957 Isle of Man TT by Norton Team rider, Bob Keeler. Keeler owned and raced this motorcycle as a privateer racer with factory support from Norton. The bike is now owned by Allan Grimm of Piedmont, California. Pictures after the jump.
The founders of the TTXGP, that ran at the Isle of Man this last June, have announced that there will be a new racing class in 2010. Called the PRO2 class, participating teams will make two laps around the Mountain Course, with an optional pit stop in-between the laps. The pit stop is not mandatory, but will allow teams to swap-out their battery packs for new ones, if they so desire.
In case you missed it this morning, the first running of the TTXGP, a zero-emission TT held on the Isle of Man, occurred today with Team Agni being the victor. Team Agni has dominated the whole week, setting the fastest times in both practice sessions. Their bike, piloted by Rob “Rocket” Barber, is a modified Suzuki GSXR frame, with Agni’s proprietary electrical motor in place of the standard internal combustion engine. Report and results below.
UPDATED: Pictures and results after the jump.
Team Agni and rider Robert “Bullet” Barber turned the fastest lap beating out favorites MotoCzysz, Mission Motors and Brammo. Barber propelled Agni’s modified Suzuki GSXr 600 to an average speed of 84.8MPH, with a speed of 102.6 recorded at the Sulby Trap. Agni Motors builds electric motors for many applications including electric vehicles, so it is not too much of a surprise they did well.
A little late with its unveiling, Mission Motors has finally shown off its Mission One TTXGP race bike to the public at large. Noticeable right off the bat is the lack of fit-and-finish the the Mission One displays when compared to the Brammo or MotoCzysz motorcycles. But as the A&R track bike can attest to, how a bike looks, is poor, and usually incorrect indication of how it goes around the race track.
First to arrive on the Isle of Man, Brammo has been the most photogenic of the TTXGP contestants from the United States. If IOM gossip is to be believed, the team has been spotted swinging the occasional wrench in between pub hosted team meetings.
Today on the Isle, Brammo was out testing the TTR on a 40 mile circuit. While they haven’t been out on the full Mountain Course yet, they were able to test the TTR over the 40 miles at a continuous race pace, with a focus on the increasing the endurance of the electric race bike. They were kind enough to shoot a couple shots of Roy Richardson putting the TTR through its paces. Photos after the jump.