Clean emission grand prix to round off Isle Of Man TT 2009

Here at the UKBike blog, we like to keep an eye out for the latest developments in eco-friendly bike technology. So when the rules and regs were announced earlier this month for the world's first clean emission grand prix, we were intrigued.

The TTXGP was announced at the Science Museum, London back in August. The race will take place on the IoM Mountain Course during the 2009 Isle Of Man TT season. The aim is to prove that green doesn't mean slow in the world of high-performance motorbikes.

Today the TTXGP organisers announced that JozzBikes, a motorbike petrol-to-battery converter business based in Peacehaven, East Sussex, are to enter the race with a converted Ducati 600 SuperSport that can handle speeds up to 130mph.

The JozzBikes Ducati conversion follows on from their Aprilia 125 project, where a single electric motor offered four times the torque and twice the horsepower of the original bike, with a range of 40 miles between charges.

JozzBikes founder Steve Ali Labib said:

"With clean emission transportation we are already able to compete with petrol-engined bikes on both performance and economy. The TTXGP will provide a fascinating test bed for these new technologies and will no doubt influence the vehicles individuals choose to drive on the road in the future."

We will be keeping tabs on the TTXGP between now and May as more models are added to the bill.