PRESS INFORMATION

January 28, 2016

   
 

Release on Details of TEAM MUGEN's Participation in the 2016 Isle of Man TT

Once again MUGEN (M-TEC Co., Ltd., Tomoyuki HASHIMOTO, President) will, as “TEAM MUGEN”, participate in the TT Zero Challenge class *1 at the 2016 Isle of Man TT races, to be held from 28th May (Sat.) through to 10th June (Fri.), 2016 on the Isle of Man.

For MUGEN the challenge of participating in the Isle of Man TT races started in 2012 using our original bespoke EV bike, SHINDEN, as a unique project to foster young engineers and conduct developments in a new area of motorsport and experimental powertrain design, and in 2014 and 2015 accomplished consecutive victories with 1-2 finishes in both years.

The 2016 machine, (SHINDEN GO), has been extensively developed using the knowledge and experience gained throughout the past 4 years, resulting in an all-new machine for this year's challenge.
With SHINDEN GO we will continue with our highly-successful rider line-up of John McGuinness and Bruce Anstey as we strive to win our third consecutive TT Zero title. John has won a total of 23 Isle of Man TT races, and took his second victory in the TT Zero Challenge class in 2015. He also updated the outright course record for the mountain course with his Superbike lapping at an average speed of 132.701mph(00:17:03.567), while Bruce, who has won at the TT 10 times in total, took victory in the Superbike class last year.

“SHINDEN GO” will be exhibited *2 at the 2016 Tokyo Motorcycle Show, which will be held at Tokyo Big Sight in March, 2016.

 

█ Team structure

Team name
Rider Machine Representative / Director
TEAM MUGEN John McGuinness SHINDEN GO Representative: Satoshi Katsumata
Director: Akihiro MIyata
Bruce Anstey

 

[TEAM MUGEN TT Zero Challenge results 2012-2015]

Year / Machine John McGuinness Bruce Anstey
Ranking Average Speed (mph) Time Ranking Average Speed (mph) Time
  2012 / SHINDEN
2 102.215
  22'08"850
- - -
  2013 / SHINDEN NI
2 109.527
  20'40"133
- - -
  2014 / SHINDEN SAN
1 117.366
R 19'17"300
2 115.048
  19'40"625
  2015 / SHINDEN YON
1 119.279
R 18'58"743
2 118.857
  19'02"785
 

* 1 The Isle of Man TT Race (The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy Race) TT Zero Challenge
The Isle of Man TT race, which started in 1907, is the oldest high-speed motorcycle race that is still currently held. The island, which is located between the United Kingdom and Ireland, is about the same size as the Awaji-shima island of Japan. The races are held in a time trial format on a 60 km public street course that includes urban zones, residential areas, and a mountain section.
The event was resumed in 1947, after the end of World War II, as part of the Motorcycle Grand Prix World Championship, and was soon an irresistible competitive challenge for the Japanese motorcycle manufacturers to demonstrate their technical abilities, and the riders courage. As a result of their successes in the Isle of Man TT it has served as a foundation for the Japanese motorcycle industry, from which it has made the leap to the pinnacle of world class motorcycle manufacture and competition.

The TT Zero Challenge class is a new category that was started in 2009 in anticipation of the future of the age of clean energy. In this category, machines are required to be equipped with a power plant emitting zero carbon dioxide.
Though races for conventional internal-combustion engine classes can range from three to six laps, the race distance for the TT Zero Challenge class is currently one lap (approximately 60 km) in deference to current technology battery performance and capacity.

Event Name Date and time :Japan time is ahead 8 hours from the time of the Isle of Man(summer time)

Qualifying 1
Free Practice
Qualifying 2
Race

Friday, 3rd June, 2016 20:40~ (1LAP)
Saturday, 4th June, 16:35~ (1LAP)
Monday, 6th June, 2016 16:25~ (1LAP)
Wednesday, 8th June, 2016 16:20~ (1LAP)

 

 

*2 Release of “SHINDEN GO”
Venue: Tokyo Big Sight (Tokyo International Exhibition Complex) West Exhibition Hall, Special stage in atrium
Date and time: 25th March, 2016 14:45 - 15:15




█ Riders Profile
John McGuinness


Date of birth: 1972.4.16 (43 years old)
Location: Lancashir, England

Began competing in the Isle of Man TT races in 1996, and, with 23 victories to date, he holds the record for the most wins of currently active riders. Since 2012, he has been racing in the TT Zero Challenge class as a rider for TEAM MUGEN. In 2014 and 2015, he took 2 consecutive victories in the TT Zero class. In 2015, he took victory in the Senior TT race, updating the course record at the same time. As well as being the TT Zero lap record holder is also the current outright lap record holder for the TT Mountain course.

[2015 TT Race Results]
· TT Zero Challenge class
· Superbike class
· Supersport class, Race 1

1st place
4th place
7th place

· Supersport class, Race 2
· Superstock class
· Senior class

8th place
8th place
1st place
 
           
Bruce Anstey


Date of birth: 1969.8.21 (46 years old)
Location: Wellington, New Zealand

Made his Isle of Man TT debut in 1999 and currently has 10 TT victories to his name. In 2014, set an outright lap record with an average speed of 132.298 mph in the Superbike class. In 2015, won the title in the same class, his first TT win in the Superbike events .Has participated t in the TT Zero Challenge class with “SHINDEN” since 2014, earning 2 consecutive 2nd-place podiums for the past two years.

[2015 TT Race Results]
· TT Zero Challenge class
· Superbike class
· Supersport class, Race 1

2nd place
1st place
2nd place

· Supersport class, Race 2
· Superstock class
· Senior class
2nd place
9th place
8th place
 
           

 

 



Isle of Man TT Race official website
http://www.iomtt.com/