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A 21-year-old Australian motorcycle rider is about to
attempt something that, a few years ago, was only dreamt of – becoming
the fastest man on the planet on an electric motorcycle.
Brisbane-rider Jake Dolan, who is already carving a name for himself in
Australian 600cc Superstock racing, will open up the electric motorcycle
and aim for 200 mph or 322 kph at Lake Gairdner’s 21st annual
Speedweek, in South Australia beginning on March 21.
The bike Jake will ride is based on a Daelim
250cc road bike, but has been re-built by Newcastle, NSW, bike builder
Jon Eggenhuizen and fitted with four electric engines producing over
180kW, making it the most powerful electric bike in the world.
The current record, of 174mph, was set at the American Speedweek event
held at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah last year.
Jake said: “Our bike has more power than the record
breaker, and I am confident that we will break the 200mph barrier.
“I am keen to set another World Record to add to my scooter racing
achievement and the thought of being the first to do 200 mph (322 kph)
on an electric motorcycle is pretty exciting.
“This growing sector of motorsport is very topical and to be known as
the world’s fastest rider and first ever to 200 mph on an electric
motorcycle would be a huge boost to my race career.”
The bike has attracted great interest from many sources, including
Melbourne firm, Eken
Powerbands. Now called the Catavolt Eken Power Bike, the machine
will be on display at the 2011 Sydney Royal Easter Show following the
record attempt.
Last year, the Catavolt
team established a new Australian Land Speed Record with a 60kW machine,
of 177kph and are confident of success with this year’s 180kW machine.
Rider – Jake Dolan
Age – 21
Weight – 68kg
Height – 178 cm
Profession – Motorcycle road racer, part time model
Ambition – MotoGP or World Superbike Champion
Current bike(s) – Yamaha R6 (SSTK) and TGB 101s stunt scooter
Jake is currently a 600cc Superstock class racer and is widely regarded
as one of Australia’s most noticeable talents on and off the bike.
Jake is the current World Record holder for 24 Hour scooter racing,
setting such a record in 2007, that it remains unbeaten.
Sources:
www.catavolt.com.au
www.dlra.org.au/lgairdner.htm
www.jakedolan.com.au
www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Catavolt/111027775625545
www.evmotorcycle.org/home/
www.daelimmotors.com.au/
http://www.ekenpowerbands.com.au/
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UPDATE: 19th March, 2011 –
SPEED WEEK CANCELLED DUE TO HEAVY RAIN
To the disappointment of both spectators and
participants alike, the Speedweek event at Lake Gairdner for 2011 was
cancelled due to bad weather and flooding of the race track.
What began as a light drizzle on Friday morning, turned
into a downpour by that afternoon and continued until midday on
Saturday.
The lake surface was reportedly under 50 – 150mm of
water and the organisers were left with no other choice except to cancel
the event for 2011.
Our sponsored Catavolt team Jake Dolan and his manager
Dale Schmidtchen had just turned up to the lake to find the track under
water. Some were not so lucky though and those who had turned up earlier
were stuck at the lake as the only way in and out was closed off by
rain.
It is obviously an understatement to say that the event
cancellation is a massive disappointment for the Catavolt team and Jake
Dolan who was keen to set a new world record as described above. Of
course all teams had made huge effort in their own rights and this was a
blow to all concerned.
We are however looking forward to Speedweek 2012 and
Jake’s return with team Catavolt for the world breaking attempt that has
kept him and his supporters inspired for months.
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