“I suspect that I speak with more authority on the subject then you exhibit. Public interest by itself doesn’t make a race. Money does, and in this league only money. ”

Public interest = sponsorship = money.

In my opinion, it is unrealistic to think that the money attached to these races is independent of the marketplace. I think it’s the ONLY reason, in the end, that anything happens on a track. It’s the reason Brammo had the Best Buy logo plastered all over their bike.

Without public interest you have no sponsorship and no reason for manufacturers to participate. Without sponsors and manufacturers you have no professional teams. Without teams you have no professional races. Motorcycle racing would be limited to amateur enthusiasts out for a laugh and universities. In other words, all of the teams not involving startups or sponsors in this years TTXGP.

And no, neither I nor Ms.Brammofan were under the influence of any sort of mind-altering substances at the time of this translation.

Having an inkling now of what he probably meant, I have to say I disagree. First, there is no “scandal” here. It may be interesting and attention-grabbing, but it lacks the shock value of a true scandal (at least in this day and age). And as for waiting until after electric motorcycles reach a certain power density/excitement range, before putting it all together into a racing series, I don’t see the point. If this wasn’t ripe yet, then the market wouldn’t support it. But look, it’s TTXGP post-June 2009, and here’s Azhar, hustling his ass off to get 2010 moving. And we’ll see how it goes at Infineon. And at MoSport International, and at the other venues that will be announced soon.

I admit (somewhat sheepishly, in front of this crowd), that I have never been to a motorcycle race in my life. I, however, am going to try my hardest to make it to Infineon this May. It’s more than just going to watch a motorcycle race. As cliche as it sounds, it’s about being a part of history.

Up is down, black is white, and nothing is what it seems.

So here’s another take on the rumpus.

Some of our most profound technical breakthroughs are often as a result of a larger external immediate dynamic. We may never have got the Jet engine when we did if it wasn’t for WW2 and arguably if it wasn’t for the cold war they may not have been a NASA. (I know it’s not always true, penicillin came about because Fleming was lazy about clearing away, but I’m talking about it in general and anyway this is A&R, the second home of the no-spin/no-fact zone. Just roll with me, I do have a point).

Maybe the best thing that could have ever happened to TTXGP was this FIM attack. It creates the larger real threat against which a force of allies can marshal against. It sounds a bit crazy, but the internet is an awesome leveller. Google is just a decade old and is worth more today then GE founded a century earlier. Maybe the century old FIM needs a reboot too if it thinks it can pull this kind of shit.

This isn’t about TTXGP or the Czar, it’s bigger than that. The FIM was born at the dawn of the gasoline age. Over the years, it has mirrored that industry’s rise and has become a beast that needs to be fed. TTXGP is an external movement that it has no control over or means to deal with. It sees TTXGP as a threat in much the same way music industry sees downloading. And sadly it has reacted in the same way. It doesn’t have any other skills so knows no other way. For the FIM, its legitimacy comes from being in control. It will always try and kill anything it doesn’t.

What’s getting me worked up is my love for motorcycling. I have kids and I want them to love it as much as I do and I hope one day they will. But when the FIM is so out of step with the world around us, what the hell are we doing supporting them? How can we trust them if they are sabotaging the future with such a naked ineptitude and short sightedness? If we don’t do anything, we deserve what we get.

The FIM was meant to be the UN of our motorcycling sport. It has no legal mandate other then the authority vested in it by its members. Here at home, that’s the AMA.

An interesting question is why isn’t the AMA throwing its weight behind TTXGP? The AMA is a world giant in terms of size and activities (just like the US in the real UN) and could easily tell FIM to take a hike without any real hassle. And given where the AMA-Pro series is right now, this TTXGP could be the transformative step they need to reboot that franchise. If anybody at AMA is reading this, pull your finger out. This is your moment to shine and give your loyal fans something to cheer about and legacy that we can all be proud of. Unless you are being supplied by @Sai, you can’t believe your deal with DMG is what you want to be remembered for.

Like all organisations that live a long time, they become corrupted and divorced from their founding ideals. Did our founding fathers really foresee our constitution being hijaked by the sheer number of nut job causes that seek its protection. I reckon if they had, they would have put in a expiry date. Same with the health care debate. Pick your cause and given enough time, watch it become a Frankenstein.

Seriously, sometimes you just need to start again.

Clearly Craig has not been able to supply, so the drought continues. Any ladies looking for some cerebral electrification on the back of my harley. Do get in touch. Would love to learn new ways of measuring the stroke against the crank.

@Sai. Is it prescribed or homegrown? You may have just become the Columbian version of the TTXGP.

OK then, why not sexy, sultry, dirty, eBiker race series/event, huh? Why not embrace this scandal as a rough and ready start to a fledgling this or that? Hell, the rap industry did it, most R&B seems to as well, and lets not forget the daddy, NASCAR. Once the bastard child of prohibition, now another excuse for ‘mercans to drink too much sponsor-beer? So why not dirty-sexy + electric-racing of any kind, let alone e-motorcycling? This is why, electric is green, green is pias, pias is mother Teresa, sexy electric motorcycle racing is like mother Teresa in a black thong beckoning hither. JUST. PLAIN. WRONG.

Flaring nostrils directed toward Czar Azhar is to be expected. Bugga is mounting mother Teresa. Understood? It don’t matter if he was actually just praying too close to her ass, it just don’t look good. Get that foo as far from Teresa and we’ll all be able to, gosh I don’t know, pray faster? You know what also is plain wrong, Electric Motorcycle Racing.

When they get e-powertrain comparable to petro-chem ones, then we can talk dirty. For now, this dialog is a red herring in search for an excuse being called and op-ed-piece-of-editorial what have you. I hope Azhar gets what he deserves, an award for brass balls in lieu of funding…and judging by his persistence, I’d bet he’d hawk it to get TTXGP farther along. But, just like COI is not an accusation of impropriety yet legally viable, metalic-testies does not preclude being conceptually bat-piss wrong.

Yeah, keep praying Mr. Dude.

And I’m an enthusiast of eBike Racing. Just so stupid to try to make it a “race series”. It is an enthusiast grass-roots industry incubator. Until energy density/cost/excitement is comparable to ICE powered racing, it should stay as an incubator. Rules and regulations do nothing to push envelopes but how to cheat arbitrary rules compared with the more interesting rules, physics/economics. A pox on both these houses for missing the point of electric mobility.

@emjay. I thought we were discussing the challenges of starting a motorsport series rather then the Monkey trials. Forgive me for I am a moron by design, but I’m struggling to respond in any intelligent way.

It’s been a long time. Time to ask Craig for a casual encounter.

1) if eggs are named by that which lays them the chicken came first; if eggs are named by that which crawls from them the egg came first

2) there’s a difference between an event and a series

3) perhaps the ghost of 1976 still lingers over the island