In 2010, the Saroléa name was resurrected, after nearly 40 years, when it was bought by twin brothers Tortsen and Bjorn Robbens, who wanted to develop and build high-performance 100% electric race machines. To this end, a new production facility was established in Belgium.

 

Acquiring the Saroléa brand was no coincidence. Since their youth, the twins had been immersed in the Saroléa racing universe as their great uncle was André Van Heuverzwijn – the well-known and victorious factory motorcross rider of the 1950s.

 

Up until 2014, the first SP7 race bike was built by hand at their workshop in Belgium. All components were designed and engineered by Torsten Robbens, who has an impressive motorsport background - Toyota & McLaren F1, Porsche & Audi world endurance, aerospace (ExoMars, Proba-V, Solar Orbiter) and also in military engineering.

 

During the next three years, the prototypes underwent continuous improvement and, in 2014, Saroléa competed in the Isle of Man TT Zero. Skilled road racer, Robert Wilson took the all-carbon SP7 to an amazing 4th place, at an average speed of 93.50 mph, just 0.4 seconds off the podium.

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There were significant technical improvements for the 2015 IOM TT Zero, which resulted in an increase in the average speed to 106.51 and a solid 5th place overall.

 

At the 2016 IOM TT Zero, Saroléa riders Dean Harrison and Lee Johnston raced a completely new machine, built on the steady progress of the past two seasons. Practice and qualifying went well and the team were optimistic of getting on to the podium. However, just before the start, some unforeseen technical problems surfaced. So, rather than compromise rider safety, the difficult decision was made to withdraw from the race.

 

Back in 2017, with more knowledge and experience, Dean Harrison took the third version of the SP7 to a healthy 4th place, winning a bronze replica with an average speed of 108.064 mph (20:56.924).

 

In September 2017, after a significant appearance at the Concours d’Elegance in Chantilly, Saroléa were selected by Dorna to make a test at the Aragon MotoGP round. The bike was ridden by ex-GP champion Loris Capirossi on the Thursday before the race and, as a result, Saroléa was put on the shortlist to be the manufacturer and supplier of bikes for the new Moto-E series, taking place alongside MotoGP in 2019.

In November 2017, Saroléa launched a limited series of their street-legal superbike. The MANX7 is based on the same technology, performance and intelligence as their SP7 TT race bikes. Production is expected to commence in the third quarter of 2018.

In January 2018, Saroléa entered a new global partnership with the Solvay group and moved their headquarters to Solvay’s campus in Brussels. At the same time, the MAISON SAROLÉA name and company was resurrected, harking back to the days when the ‘Maison’ name was typically used by family companies.

In April 2018, Saroléa began a new partnership with Dunlop after their tyres were successfully tested in dry and wet conditions by Dean Harrison at Le Mans.

Two weeks later, Saroléa was invited by the ACO for a showcase lap of the Le Mans circuit just before the start of this year’s 24-hour race. The lap was witnessed and well-received by over 76,000 spectators and has led to Saroléa being officially considered as a candidate to compete in the experimental class in next year’s edition of the famous race.