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.

* 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.

*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