TTXGP: Team Agni blitzes field in first practice

Electric motor manufacturer Agni has blitzed the field in the first TTXGP practice on Tuesday, posting a lap time approaching 20mph faster than its nearest Pro-class rival. Rider Rob Barber steered the GSX-R600-based bike to a 26m 41sec lap, which gives an average speed of 85.72mph.

Nearest rival Mission Motors only managed a 33m 45sec lap, at an average of 67.68mph. ManTTx Racing’s rider Dan Kneen managed a 32m 01sec (70.73mph) lap in the open class for bikes which must be available for sale for less than £30,000.

Team Agni boss Arvind Rabadia says there’s more to come, but warns rivals might be sandbagging: “We had 15% more battery power left at the end of the lap, and Rob was really going for it. He was riding it just like his gas bike. We’ll go faster in the next practice, but I think the other teams were holding something back too.”

Team Agni’s bike is a 2007 Suzuki GSXR 600 fitted with two Agni 95 Reinforced motors and Kokam lithium-polymer battery of 63 cells of 70AH each, totalling about 16 kilowatt-hours of energy. The team says the setup gives 40 to 50 horsepower averaged over the length of the race, which should be good for about 200 km/h (120 mph) top speed, though 102mph is the best achieved along Sulby straight so far.