MotoCzysz’s Michael Rutter became the first rider to break the ton on an electric motorcycle at the Isle of Man’s famed mountain course. Rutter’s time of 21:45.33 was good for an average speed of 104.056 mph in the TTXGP. MotoCzysz also claimed the £10,000 prize put up by the IoM government for the first electric bike to break the 100 mph average speed over the course.
Long-time competitor John McGuinness took second on the Mugen came second with a time of 22:08.85 and an average speed of 102.215 mph. McGuiness holds the outright course record with an average speed of 131.578 mph on a Honda CBR1000.
MotoCzysz collected the third place with rider Mark Miller coming home in 22:23.97 and an average speed of 101.065 mph. The fourth place Zero Motorcycles machine, piloted by Rob Barber posted an average speed of 78.221 mph with a time of 28:56.45.
The 2012 Isle of Man will be remembered as a landmark event for electric bikes. Three of the four teams exceeded the 100 mph average speed over four laps totalling 150.92 miles. The zero emission TTXGP class was added in 2009. The mountain course has been used for the annual Tourist Trophy races since 1911; it took until 1957 for a gasoline engined 100 mph lap to be recorded. John Surtees posted that mark on a Gilera.
