Voxan Just Set Eleven New Electric Speed Records

Not quite the speed of light, but getting closer!

Over the Halloween weekend, electric streamliner motorcycle team Voxan set out to tick several new world speed records off their goals list in 2020. Did they succeed? Let’s check in and find out. 

They had twelve records in their sights going in, and on October 31, 2020, Max Biaggi rode the Voxan Wattman to a new record in the “partially streamlined electric motorcycle over 300 kilos” class at Châteauroux Airfield in France. Their time: 366.94 km/h (228.05 mph). The previous record in this class was held by Ryuji Tsuruta aboard his Mobitec EV-02A, at a speed of 329 km/h (204 mph).  

According to FIM regulations, speeds to calculate this number are averaged from two one-mile runs with flying starts in opposite directions, which must both be run within two hours to be considered. In the course of laying down those runs, the Wattman also managed a top speed of 408 km/h (254 mph). Since the track is fairly short (3.5 km, or 2.17 miles), Voxan is rethinking higher speed goals for runs on longer tracks in the future. 

The non-streamlined Wattman managed a 349.38 km/h (217.14 mph) speed run on October 30, which is also impressive. The team set a slew of other brand-new records where no other records had existed before, as follows: 

• ¼ mile, flying start, partially streamlined: 394.45 km/h (245.10 mph) 
• ¼ mile, flying start, non-streamlined: 357.19 km/h (221.95 mph) 
• ¼ mile, standing start, non-streamlined: 126.20 km/h (78.42 mph) 
• 1 km, standing start, non-streamlined: 185.56 km/h (115.30 mph) 
• 1 mile, standing start, non-streamlined: 222.82 km/h (138.45 mph) 
• 1 mile, standing start, partially streamlined: 225.01 km/h (139.81 mph) 

Finally, the team broke three additional records that had previously existed: 

• 1 km, flying start, partially streamlined: 386.35 km/h (240.07 mph); previous record: 329.31 km/h (204.62 mph) 
• ¼ mile, standing start, partially streamlined: 127.30 km/h (79.10 mph); previous record: 87.16 km/h (54.16 mph) 
• 1 km, standing start, partially streamlined: 191.84 km/h (119.20 mph); previous record: 122.48 km/h (76.11 mph) 

Gallery: Voxan Wattman 2020 Speed Records

“When Gildo Pastor, the President of the Venturi Group, approached me about this project, I was curious, very motivated, and at the same time a little uncertain,” Max Biaggi said.  

“Having said that, right after our first meeting, I quickly realised that, like Gildo, his teams were driven by an incredible belief and determination. They told me “we came close to 600 km/h (373 mph) on four wheels, and now we want to flirt with 400 km/h (249 mph) on two wheels, nothing’s going to stop us!” These records make me a happy man! I’m proud of the team and delighted to bring these titles back to Monaco!” 

An eleven-record weekend seems like a pretty spectacular result to us. Can’t wait to see what Voxan will do next! 

Records Big And Small:

Harley-Davidson LiveWire Just Set New World Speed Records At Indy

⠀ Cycleweird: The Smalltoe Is Still The Smallest 'Rideable' Bike in The World

Read more