Buckeye Current team captures world records

Laura Friedmann and team rider Louis-Marie Blondel (center) show off the Ohio State RW-5 Voxan with the Buckeye Current team

Buckeye Current team captures world records

Team overcame numerous challenges on the way to success

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Chris Booker Ohio State News [email protected] 614.292.7276

There's fast, and then there's Buckeye fast. For the Buckeye Current electric motorcycle team, there is no one faster.

The award-winning, student-led motorcycle racing team that calls The Ohio State University home recently returned from the Bonneville Motorcycle Speed Trials at the Utah Salt Flats with four new world records to add to its list of accomplishments.

Building the world's fastest electric motorcycle from scratch is a challenge the Buckeye Current team signed up for on the way to those world records. What they didn't expect was a pop-up thunderstorm at the starting line, a bad battery charger, a failed battery module and a burnt-up motor - challenges that did not deter them.

"It was awesome to see that the team never gave up and then it all paid off that next day," said Laura Friedmann, Buckeye Current team president. "That was so fun. That was probably my favorite moment."

The world records, pending verification by the FIM (Fédération Internationale Motocycliste) governing body, included reaching an average speed of 180.035 mph with an aerodynamic body over the course of a flying mile and 168.593 mph without the faring.

The records are one more step for the team and partners in the Monegasque Venturi Group to build the fastest electric motorcycle. The team is composed of students from a variety of majors who volunteer their time to build and test the Ohio State RW-5 Voxan.

Friedmann, a graduate research fellow at the university's Center for Automotive Research (CAR), said the challenges the Buckeye Current team faced started shortly after they left Columbus, when their truck and trailer broke down. Right before their first race, a thunderstorm blasted through their campsite and nearly soaked their motorcycle. Then their high-voltage charger stopped working and they had to turn to a previously unreliable backup.

"If you can't charge a battery pack, you can't race, and a high-voltage charger is not something you can just go out and get. They're custom-made. They cost a lot of money. They're not readily available," she said.

The team persevered and continued to find solutions when new trials arose. David Cooke, senior associate director of CAR and an adviser for the Buckeye Current team, said the students continued to show experience beyond their years.

"I couldn't be more proud of them. I told them all that they entered as a student club and left as a land speed racing team," he said. "They went through a lot in the last month and I'm super proud of them."

Friedmann said the team has a goal of shattering 200 mph on the RW-5 Voxan - a goal that appears to be within their grasp.

Gildo Pastor, president of the Venturi Group, agreed that more records are on the horizon.

"Four new world speed records is a fantastic gift to mark the 15th anniversary of our collaboration. Ohio State University and Venturi Group already held five records, and we are now at nine. See you soon for the tenth!"

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