I can remember standing at the start line of the 2011 IOM TT waiting for the start of the inaugural TT Zero race. It was the first ever TT for electric motorcycles. Although, I use the term ?motorcycles? loosely. You should have seen them; there were one or two that looked like bikes, the rest of the field looked like a line-up of Stevie Wonder?s various attempts at building a caravan. With the exception of a few, they?d all quite clearly been thrown together by long haired students, hippies and weirdos. Actually, maybe they?re all the same thing, come to mention it. Anyway. It was a bit of a joke if the truth?s known and when the flag dropped and the first ?bike? crawled away from the start line to a soundtrack of scoffs and sniggers, I had to question whether or not it would catch on.
The one-lap TT Zero race lasted until 2019. It was around the time the organisers decided the ‘roads closed’ could be put to better use. Put to use with ?proper? bikes going round (either practicing or racing) rather than half a dozen mini milk floats. After all, in 2019, there were only nine starters, seven of which finished. At least if you manage to make it round you?re guaranteed a good result.

Why am I banging on about the TT Zero" Well if you ask me, I think certain conclusions can be drawn from the success and popularity (or lack thereof) of the aforementioned TT class. You see it was quite clearly started with the very best intentions. The aim was obviously...