Max Biaggi and the Monegasque electric motorcycle manufacturer Voxan Motors celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Venturi group in style, setting a total of eleven new world speed records at the Châteauroux airfield in France last November. The Voxan Wattman is being optimized to compete before the end of the year in the under 300 kilo category. This time again, Max Biaggi will be at the controls of this machine.
Initially, the Voxan Wattman was designed to ride on the Salar de Uyuni in Bolivia, the largest salt desert in the world. The restrictions linked to the health situation had not made it possible – and still do not make it possible – to consider this trip. Never mind, the Monaco-based team found a plan B, and set a total of eleven new records at the Châteauroux airfield, in France, with Max Biaggi at the helm. It was a great consecration of the hard work of the team, which had to optimize the behavior of the Wattman on this type of surface, the engine and transmission underwent some modifications and this, as usual, in intelligence with the tire partner Michelin.
Of course, records are made to be broken! The team White Motorcycle Concepts has also unveiled its own electric motorcycle developed for this purpose, the WMC250EV, a few days ago. Announced objective: a British speed record this year, and the world record in 2022.
That was all it took for the Voxan team to get back on track. The Voxan Wattman should drop below 300 kilos, which would allow it to compete in this specific category. The weight gain is mainly due to the adoption of a new battery. Gildo Pastor, the President, Franck Baldet, the Technical Director and Louis-Marie Blondel, the designer of the motorcycle, chose the SAFT company as a partner. This French structure enjoys great expertise in motorsport as well as in the space sector.
In November 2020, in instantaneous speed, the Voxan Wattman reached 408 km/h. To now try to exceed this value, the work of the Venturi/Voxan engineering team also focused on the question of air penetration and stability. While wind tunnel simulations remain fundamental, the research & development department has also turned to specialists in fluid dynamics simulation, particularly to consider very, very high speeds.
“Trying to set new speed records barely 1 year after obtaining the very first ones is exhilarating! I am lucky to be able to count on an inspired and inspiring team who made the Voxan Wattman the fastest electric motorcycle in the world. 11 records (validated by the International Motorcycling Federation), it’s good but… not enough! I still want to contribute to advancing electric mobility” said Venturi-Voxan President Gildo Pastor in a statement.
“I can’t believe the work we have accomplished in just a few months. Last November, we wondered if we were going to reach 400 km/h when today this speed is, neither more nor less, our working base! It is beyond this pivotal value that we learn and progress. Given our motivation, the team spirit that reigns at Voxan and our thirst to surpass ourselves, I have no doubt that we will succeed” added Max Biaggi.
