Victory Motorcycles has announced that they will enter a two-man team into this year’s Isle of Man TT Zero. The prototype electric race bikes will be piloted by William Dunlop of the legendary Dunlop dynasty and by Lee Johnston known in the racing world as “General Lee”. This is the first time that Victory Motorcycles enters an European motorcycle racing event.
The electric motor delivers around 150 hp
The move is hardly a surprise since Victory’s parent company, Polaris has recently acquired electric bike and powertrains manufacturer Brammo’s bike division with the intention of producing electric motorcycles at some point before the end of the year.
Victory Racing will compete in the Isle of Man TT electric class, marking the first time that Victory Motorcycles has entered a professional motorcycle-racing event in Europe and raced an electric motorcycle. Parker, the world’s leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, is providing the race-proven, high performance GVM PMAC motors for both machines.
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“The entire Victory team is excited to make history with this effort,” said Rod Krois, Victory General Manager. “We know that William Dunlop’s experience and the continued Victory Motorcycles development of this electric race bike through work with Parker will propel us into a strong future with electric motorcycles.”
The event will take place on Wednesday, June 10, 2015.
The SES TT Zero Challenge class event for electric motorcycles is a one-lap race round the island’s 37.73 mile Mountain Course scheduled for Wednesday, June 10, 2015. John McGuinness won last year’s TT Zero race for Japanese manufacturer, Mugen, setting a fastest lap of 117mph.
“I’m more than excited to race this prototype at the Isle of Man,” said William Dunlop. “Electric powertrains have many advantages, and the Isle of Man is one of the greatest tests in motorcycle racing.”
Lee Johnston will be riding the second entry for Victory Racing in the SES TT Zero Race and said, “I’m excited to make history by racing the new Victory electric race prototype. It’s thrilling to be part of the emerging electric motorcycle movement.”
Ben Furnish, Marketing Manager for Parker Hannifin said, “Parker is thrilled to be involved with Victory Motorcycles in this historic event with these talented riders. We look forward to working with Victory to develop high performance powertrains for electric motorcycles.”
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The Victory Racing prototype electric race bike features a dedicated electric racing motor and power cells as well as highly sophisticated electric controls to maximize the top power, power delivery, and durability under racing conditions. Victory engineers have further refined the electronics and chassis for the upcoming race with private test sessions in North America.
Source: Victory Motorcycles
