Hoofddorp, Netherlands: The 8th June 2016 saw the University of Nottingham’s (UoN) electric superbike become the fastest university-developed electric bike to go around the 37 mile Isle of Man road circuit winning 3rd place in the 2016 TT Zero race. Murata not only sponsored the bike but also provided IGBT gate drive DC-DC conversion technology which helped the team achieve the right balance of power output and energy preservation.
The Isle of Man TT Zero race is a particularly gruelling challenge for electric bikes because the length of the race requires performance to be balanced with energy usage, high speed being sacrificed for range to ensure a finish. Despite this the Murata/UoN bike, ridden by Daley Mathison, achieved an average speed of a fraction under 100mph, finishing ahead of the race favourite John McGuinness on the works Mugen/Honda.
