THE prestigious honour of being the first bike and rider to beat the 100mph barrier in the TT Zero race is attracting interest from all around the world.
Entries for this year’s SES TT Zero Challenge have now opened and anticipation is high that 2012 will be the year when history is made with the first ever 100mph lap on an electric machine.
Segway MotoCzysz came very close with a lap of 99.604mph in 2011 on a machine ridden by Michael Rutter, meaning the bike was agonisingly only a few yards short of achieving the historic landmark.
In addition to making history, the first 100mph lap also wins a prize of £10,000. In the case of multiple 100mph laps being achieved the award will be made to the highest placed finisher in the race which is scheduled for the Wednesday of race week.
However, weather conditions will be a major factor in whether the first 100mph electric bike lap can be achieved. Last year the race was delayed until weather conditions improved. In dry conditions, experts predict that the barrier will be broken.
There will also be limited edition trophies, designed by a local Manx artist, presented to the first 10 teams to average over 100mph lap on the mountain course.
Laurence Skelly MHK, Member of the Department of Economic Development with political responsibility for Clean Tech, said, “The Department will work hard to encourage teams to enter and thereafter liaising regularly with them and assisting wherever possible in order to make the process as easy and enjoyable as possible.
“I am pleased the Isle of Man is continuing to offer clean emission motorcycle developers the opportunity to test their machines in the TT Zero challenge and I am grateful to SES for supporting the event again this year.”
Dr Ken Milne, senior manager for Energy Policy at the Department of Economic Development, is hopeful the event will attract some quality commercial and university entrants.
“I look forward to seeing teams from across the world compete to break the 100mph lap which I believe will be keenly fought for. The Isle of Man has had an exciting year with a number of clean tech initiatives in the pipeline and I look forward to building on that in 2012.
“The TT Zero Challenge provides us with a useful platform to promote the Isle of Man as a low carbon clean tech centre of excellence.”
Entry into the SES TT Zero Challenge is open for two months with a closing date of February 29th 2012.
The sponsor SES is a world-leading telecommunications satellite operator and is the TT ‘Satellite Technology’ partner.
The company has a fleet of more than 45 geostationary satellites that can reach 99% of the world’s population. Their satellites are the world’s leading television distribution platform and broadcast the equivalent of more than 100,000 hours of TV programming every day.
