Max Biaggi Sets Electric World Speed Record

[Hugh Janus]

Max Biaggi achieved a new electric motorcycle land speed record on the Voxan Wattman. (Voxan/)

“It’s official, record [408 kph]. Thanks my team, @Voxanmotors.” A simple tweet from Max Biaggi, shouting his satisfaction to the world. “Your courage has remained untouched,” his friend and former on-track rival Loris Capirossi said.

Despite six world titles, and an ID that states his age as 49, Biaggi continues to surprise. For his latest adventure, on October 31, the Italian rider set the world top speed record on an electric bike: 228.05 mph, achieved on a Voxan Wattman built by the Monaco-based Venturi Group. With that performance, Biaggi dethroned previous record holders Ryuji Tsuruta and Mobitec EV-02A, with their speed of 204 mph. But what impresses even more was that, after three days of testing at Châteauroux airfield in France, Biaggi achieved the tremendous top speed of 254 mph. A rocket.

“At this speed the vision becomes narrower and narrower, and the air seems an impenetrable wall,” said Biaggi, who three years ago decided to stop riding bikes after he was seriously injured in a crash at the Sagittario track near Rome. But for a professional rider a life away from motorcycles is hard to conceive. So, in addition to being back on the MotoGP paddock as the team owner of a Moto3 squad, Biaggi took on this ambitious and innovative project that wants to push the limits of sustainable mobility.

Two hundred fifty-four mph on two wheels. Impossible? Not anymore. “When Gildo Pastor, the president of the Venturi Group, approached me about this project, I was very curious, but at the same time a little concerned,” Biaggi said. “I had several question marks as it was an entirely new project, and honestly I didn’t know what to expect. Why did I accept it? All my life has been about challenges and pushing the limits a bit forward. So, when they told me, ‘We came close to 373 mph on four wheels, and now we want to flirt with 249 mph on two wheels,’ I said yes. I saw a team really determined and motivated and I wanted to be part of it,” he continued with obvious pride.

In accordance with FIM (International Motorcycle Federation) regulations, the Voxan Wattman’s speed was measured from a flying start over 1 mile in opposite directions, within a period of two hours. According to the protocol, the final speed is the average of the two speeds recorded over these two runs. The Voxan sent records tumbling as the GPS speedometer peaked at a speed of 254 mph.

“The sensations I experienced were quite different from those that have characterized most of my life and my career on two wheels,” il Corsaro said, particularly noting the lack of engine roar. “The first thing that you notice is the lack of the classical familiar noises. The sound of an electric engine is completely different, the same for the power delivery.”

Sitting in the motorcycle rather than on it was a change for Biaggi. (Voxan/)

With 1,470 cells (and a weight of 140 kilograms, almost 309 pounds), the Voxan Wattman’s battery delivers 317kW (431 hp) of nominal power, with a capacity of 15.9kW. “A speed record is all about power: power that you lose due to aerodynamics and power that you gain with acceleration. You need to find the right balance. The design and aerodynamic profile of the motorcycle become crucial.” For aerodynamic efficiency, there is no radiator and the “tank” is inside the bike. The rider also has to do his part.

“I had to change my approach and my riding style because on an electric Voxan Wattman you are completely encapsulated by the machinery. And if there is a No. 1 rule, it is: stay still. You don’t have to move your body on the bike. This is something unnatural for a racer who comes from MotoGP or World Superbike: remaining still to go fast. The seating position, too, is very different from a conventional motorbike because the center of gravity is very low. I was not allowed to move. This is something I had to adapt and force on myself, because I’m used to moving my body on the bike. I remember one of the first times, project leader Franck Baldet told me, ‘Forget that you are riding a motorcycle and believe in the system to extract the maximum performance.’” Easier said than done.

And then the sense of the competition. “This time I was competing for the record alone, without rivals. This also was a new feeling,” Biaggi said. But what struck him the most was something else: “I had never touched 400 kph. At these speeds the perspective of the space around you changes completely. The aerodynamic effects become crucial. The air is an impenetrable wall and you begin to fight with forces that I would find…unknown. It was a new adventure, difficult to describe because the sensations were not familiar. In the end the rituals are the same: You put your gloves on, you tighten your helmet, you have a look at the dashboard…”

But how does it feel to be the fastest man on earth on an electric bike? “It was a huge satisfaction. We made it thanks to a bit of craziness. It was not easy at the beginning; I had to do a shift in my mentality. I had to adapt to ride completely encapsulated in the machine without the possibility to move. The feeling is very weird.”

Biaggi says the feeling of riding the Wattman was weird. The feeling of accomplishment, we assume, is a little less weird for the six-time world champion. (Voxan/)

On board the Voxan Wattman, propelled by its powerful 270kW engine, Max Biaggi achieved nine different speed records at Châteauroux airfield. The team says this is only the beginning. Pastor, founder of the Venturi Group, which has competed in the world Formula E championship since season 1, is a pioneer in eco-mobility. Biaggi’s land speed record celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Venturi Group’s electric sustainable mobility adventure. It has now officially created the fastest-ever electric vehicles on two and four wheels (Venturi VBB-3, FIA record: 549 kph/341 mph), and in the four-wheel fuel cell category (Venturi VBB-2, FIA record: 487 kph/303 mph). What shall we expect next?

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[Pedro]

5 hours ago, CW66 said:

, who three years ago decided to stop riding bikes after he was seriously injured in a crash