The riders Daley Mathison and Chris Foster are no strangers to to Billown Course, in the Isle of Man.

The ‘UoN Team’ have joined forces with Castletown based ‘Darvill Racing’ who have been racing on the 4.25-mile southside course since 1957 - almost as long as the Southern 100 has been run (1955).

The two UoN eBikes will race against ‘petrol-engined machines in the Lightweight 125/400cc events on the Wednesday Evening and again on Championship Day, Thursday.

25-year-old professional road racer, Daley Mathison finished third on a similar UoN machine in the TT Zero Race 2016 and was the 2015 European MotoE Champion, married with a daughter, Daisy Blu, he hails from Stockton-on-Tees.

Team-mate Chris Foster is 40-ish lives with four kids and the lovely Rachel in Congleton and in his spare time his is a Scientific Account Manager. He is no stranger to the Billown Course and in 2015 finished in third place in the European MotoE Championship.


Formed in 2014 the UoN eBike Team finished third in the MotoE European Race Series with an Agni Bike. 

2015 the team fully designed and built their own bike, which finished fifth in the TT Zero Race, securing the University Prize. The UoN Team also won the European MotoE Championship.

Last year saw them retain the Euro Championship and add the runner-up spot to their record, as well as finishing third in the TT Zero Race.

Headed by Dr Gimeno-Fabra the team competes across the globe pushing the development of eBike technology.

Dr Gimeno-Fabra said 

“Our main goal is to push the limits of the available technology, and in doing so also teach our students what they can do with their degrees. Far from just being another University project we are a racing team, and competing at the highest level is what we want to do. 

Being able to race at the Southern 100 which is such an iconic road race is fantastic, there is nothing like road racing to test the capabilities of any machine.

‘We hope to put up a good show and be competitive against the petrol bikes which is something unprecedented. We are delighted to be able to partner with Darvill Racing for this event, their technical knowledge and experience is outstanding, but they also fit with our team values and work ethics”.


Darvill Racing, which was established in 1957, double world endurance champions and with many podiums globally over the decades. In 2014 working with the Southern 100 and ACU they made history by being the first team granted to enter eBikes to compete with conventionally powered machines on a mass-start road race anywhere in the world. Since then they have continued to be involved with both conventional and electric motorsport with their best eBike result in 2015 where they finished 3rd place in the 2015 European MotoE Championship whilst travelling around Europe sharing a pit space with the UoN Team along the way.

Team Principal Alex Aitchison said 

“We are extremely pleased to be working with the UoN Team bringing their well-prepared machines to the Southern 100. We have worked closely with the team for a few years now, their dedication and commitment are a credit to them all and their progress to date has been amazing to follow.”

“As our ‘hometown race’ the S100 has a special place in our hearts especially as it is right on our doorstep. I can’t thank the Southern 100 Committee enough for their continued support and progressive approach, we are all looking forward to lining up alongside Daley onboard the #2 bike on the grid!”