Not all motorcycle races can claim more than a hundred years of track time, but not all motorcycles races are the Isle of Man TT. Tradition, however, is not all that the Isle of Man is about. It is also about innovation.
The Isle of Man TT is one of the first, and one of the premiere, electric motorcycle races. It is also slowly building its roster from the biggest names in motorcycle racing. Chris Palmer is the latest name to be added to that list.
Palmer has won three Isle of Man TT events and holds two track records. He will be racing for the Swedish Electric Racing Team (SERT), on a modified CBR600RR. The motorcycle was bought from Anthony West who used it while racing for the now defunct, Stiggy Racing World Suberbike team.
“We bought the Honda CBR600RR because the frame design is well suited to convert to an electric system and since the new parts are about the same weight and placement we expect the handling to be very similar to the original bike,” said Lars Nilsson, leader of the SERT team.
“We are all really thrilled to be participating in the world’s greatest motorcycle race although we have a lot of work between now and June to get the bike ready. The TT is the ultimate challenge for an electric motorcycle and we are looking forward to the task.”
The rest of the SERT team is made up of Mats Nilsson, Per Backstrom, Christoffer Alwen, and Peter Rosenquist. Palmer leads the team with experience, racing his first Isle of Man in 1990.
“We are delighted to welcome our first Scandinavian team to TT Zero,” said Isle of Man Tourism and Leisure Minister Martyn Quayle. “We are really looking forward to seeing them put their technology to the test around the Mountain Course.”
