Suffering falling outs with both the Isle of Man TT and the FIM, the TTXGP electric motorcycle series has had to reinvent itself since its first event in back in 2009. A massive collision of three parties all trying to control the next big thing in motorcycle racing, fans of the electric motorcycle racing eventually saw it split over three competing series: the TT Zero race at the Isle of Man TT, the FIM’s e-Power Championship, and of course the TTXGP series.

The resulting fracture created a lack of cohesion in the sport, and created a situation where the heavy-hitters in the electric motorcycle industry would cherry-pick the events they attended, often with no formidable competition alongside them at the starting grid. This not only created a disparity in performance between competitors on any given race day, but also denied enthusiasts the chance to see real head-to-head racing amongst the brands that were dominating the newswires.

A major division in these different electric motorcycle racing series is about to heal itself though, as the FIM and TTXGP have finally come to an agreement on a future joint electric motorcycle racing series.

Since Asphalt & Rubber has been coming to you live from the Isle of Man this past fortnight, we’ve gotten hip to what our friends across the pond are doing these days. While we doubt that the copious amounts of tea and superfluous use of the letter “u” in words will stick with us when we return to the US, we do know that today is the Queen Elizabeth II’s Official Birthday in the UK (which oddly enough isn’t her actual birthday).

As is the custom on her official birthday, the Queen names a list of recipients of royal honours and those admitted to the Order of the British Empire, with this year including TTXGP’s Azhar Hussain as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his contributions to motorsport.

Rumors of an FIM e-Power and TTXGP merger have been quietly floating around for the past week, and before we could report on those whispers of the event, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme has scooped us with the story that it has been holding conversations with the folks at TTXGP regarding the two series running joint events during the 2011 electric motorcycle season, with a possible final joint Championship to take place at the end of the year.

Sources close to the talks have told Asphalt & Rubber that a merger between the two series is imminent, with many of the stakeholders already signing-off on the deal. The likely outcome would be a series that lives on with the e-Power name, promoted by none other than Dorna Motor Sports, of MotoGP media fame. The FIM’s impetus seems to be in consolidating the two diverging series, and finally integrating them into established professional road racing.

Conversely, TTXGP will be able to find a financial exit from the rumored deal, something its investors will surely be happy to see. TTXGP has been able to piggyback off of local and club racing events, making deals with the tracks themselves, rather than the organizing bodies, in an effort to expand rapidly. While TTXGP has seen push-back from the Isle of Man TT, FIM, and AMA, the series has proven to be more adept at marketing itself than the FIM with its e-Power.

More on this as we get it, for now both parties are only admitting to the fact that they are talking about “collaborating” with one another. Joint statement from the FIM & TTXGP after the jump, along with their 2011 racing calendars.

Carbon fiber products manufacturer 666 Road Racing has announced its plans to enter into the 2010 Isle of Man TT Zero event, making them the first announced team to enter the TT Zero event with a Mavizen electric sport bike. Mavizen, as many may remember, is owned by Azhar Hussain, founder of the TTXGP, which was recently ousted by the Isle of Man, which then created the TT Zero racing class for the Isle of Man TT. This announcement is a turn of events as it was previously believed Azhar would not let a Mavizen bike compete in rival series created by the FIM and Isle of Man.

After crowdsourcing their rule book, TTXGP has set another unprecedented move in racing by allowing teams to own up to 70% of the series itself. The union (TEO), as TTXGP calls it, will be transfered stock in in TTXGP Ltd, the company behind the TTXGP series. Teams then who comprise of the TEO membership will be award individual “units” of TEO based on the number of races the teams enter and their position in the standings.

For 2010, 30% of TTXGP Ltd. will be transfered to TEO, and the goal is to have 70% of the company up for grabs by 2020. TEO will have a considerable amount of sway in how TTXGP is run, thus creating a more open atmosphere for the direction of the series. The move to give teams a vested interest like this also serves to encourage more participation in the series. More after the jump.

The Isle of Man announced today that they will be adding the TT Zero clean emissions class to the historic Isle of Man TT race program. The Zero TT, like the rest of the IOMTT, will be run by ACU Events, Ltd and will use the FIM rules concerning electric motorcycles. Additionally, promotions for the Zero TT will be handled by the Department of Tourism and Leisure. Of particular note in this announcement is the Isle of Man’s dropping of TTXGP, which will not be involved in the 2010 series, but the DTL’s Martyn Quayle said in the press release that he acknowledges TTXGP’s hard work in the first zero emissions race at Isle of Man in June of 2009.

Early indications surrounding the announcement suggest that the decision by the Isle of Man to setup the TT Zero racing class stems from the Isle’s desire to distance itself and the historic race from the TTXGP brand, which has been in controversy both publicly with its split from the FIM, and privately with members of the motorcycle community. Given the TT’s heated history with the FIM, it is also of particular note that they will be adopting the international organization’s rules and regulations for the running of TT Zero, which could be a further indication from the Isle in distancing itself from the influence of TTXGP.

Lord Drayson, UK Minister of Science and Technology, took the wraps off the TTXGP exclusive CRP Racing eCRP 1.0 today at the 4th Annual Cleaner Racing Conferance. CRP’s goal is to innovate in the world of motorcycle roadracing and the all electric race bike seems to be a good fit for the company. The eCRP 1.0 dual motor electric drive is based on 2009 TTXGP winning Team Agni X01, while the rest of the bike was designed and built in house by CRP and incorporates 30 years of race proven technological know-how.

CRP Racing does not have plans to field an electric race team but will make the bike available to teams who want to race in the TTXGP. The bike will not be available to teams wishing to run races in the competing FIM ePower Series who has yet to announce a race team entry.

TTXGP will be getting an added layer of transparency for 2011, as the Azhar “The Czar” Hussain has put his electric motorcycle racing series rule book up in wiki form, and invited competitors and experts to make, modify, and discuss the regulations that TTXGP competitors will have to adhere to in 2011. Acting as arbitrator and moderator over the wiki is lawyer Harry Mallin, which electric motorcycle fans might know better as Brammofan.

UPDATE: You can find Azhar Hussain’s response to this article on Brammofan.

Last week when I wrote my op-ed, I was content to say my piece on the issue of TTXGP/Mavizen conflict of interest, and then move along with other things. But considering the response the piece got, not only by Azhar Hussain himself, but also by others in the industry, as well as the recent announcements of Zero Motorcycles and Mission Motors entering the TTXGP racing series, I thought I’d give the issue another pass. Ignoring the name-calling, accusations of professional misconduct, and general pettiness that followed, I wanted to address and few things that have developed in this space, and why I’m still thankful the FIM split from TTXGP.

This extended weekend, we Americans sat down for our Thanksgiving meals, joined by family, friends, and hospitable strangers. There are many things to look back on and be thankful for: good health, good friends, good fortune, just to name a few. I, like many others, am thankful for these things as well, but of course proclaiming as such makes for a very boring motorcycle editorial.

Among other things, in motorcycling I am thankful for the recent announcement by the FIM to breakaway from the TTXGP electric motorcycle racing series. While we may never know the FIM’s true reasoning in its resolve to distance itself from Azhar Hussain’s TTXGP series, I suspect a portion of that thought process stems from the now clear and convincing conflict of interest that is unfolding in electric motorcycle racing, and acts of impropriety that are stemming from those competing interests.