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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.

After its performance at the first TTXGP round at Sonoma, the Brammo Empulse RR returns to racing in California this weekend at e-Power/TTXGP round being held at Laguna Seca. With Steve Atlas on the mend fielding one entry, and Steve Rapp unlikely to take another chance on the Oregonian machine, Brammo has tapped Eric Bostrom to ride its second race entry at the iconic sea-side track.

The FIM has released its 2012 calendar for the e-Power Championship, the motorcycle racing authority’s electric racing series. Disappointingly, though perhaps not surprising, the five-stop schedule is very Euro-centric, with only the Laguna Seca breaking the e-Power Championship out of the Europe. Similar to last year, e-Power will piggyback off other FIM events, and will share its race weekends with the FIM Endurance World Championship, FIM Sidecar World Championship, and MotoGP.

Finding a way to justify double-dipping in France, at the start and end of the series, there was hope that the FIM would bring more events to the US for 2012, especially considering how many potent projects are underway in the United States, especially on the west coast. With two MotoGP opportunities and one World Superbike stop in 2012, it is a shame that the FIM did not add another event at either Indianapolis or Miller Motorsports Park for the e-Power Championship.

While the REFUEL event a few weeks ago was Mission Motors’ true first public race with the Mission R, the San Francisco company is on a mission (oh sweet jesus) to prove a point at Laguna Seca this weekend, after previously being out of the electric racing gig for the past year. Undoubtedly by now you’ve seen photos of the Mission R electric superbike, and while it certainly looks fast standing still, the question had also been raised if it’s only good for standing around and looking pretty.

Taking those talking points to heart, Steve Rapp silenced those critics today, as the Mission Motors rider smashed the standing “best lap” time from last year’s e-Power Championship race at Laguna Seca, which was set by competitor MotoCzysz. Posting a 1’33.714 lap time, Rapp was nearly 11 seconds quicker than last year’s pace, and did so at will on the Mission R, posting half of his laps below the 1’34 mark (his slowest hot lap was a 1’36).

To put that pace into perspective, Rapp would have been fifth on the grid had he been lapping in AMA Supersport’s Free Practice (which occurred early in the day, and thus on a cold track), and thirteenth in AMA Supersport’s Qualifying Practice 1 (which was later in the day, and in similar conditions as the e-Power/TTXGP session). Boom goes the dynamite.

The FIM and TTXGP have issued a joint statement today, declaring that the two rival electric racing series would collaborate on three races this season, plus the possibility of a season-capping championship race in October. As we broke the news a couple months ago, the two series have begun to patch-up their relationship, and are slowly working their way back into a merger.

Today’s announcement sees TTXGP adding its name to perhaps the FIM e-Power Championship’s crown jewel event: the Laguna Seca round, which will count towards the TTXGP’s North American Championship.

Other event collaborations include stops on the FIM e-Power calendar as well, as both Donington Park and Le Mans have been named in the press release. e-Power races to be held at those venues were to be run during the FIM Endurance World Championship, and now will include TTXGP riders as well, who will be receiving points towards their European Championship standings.

The announcement should mean the bolstering of riders at all the events, but we imagine it will affect the FIM’s European rounds the most, as the American race was well-attended last year.

There’s a quiet rumor going on in the electric racing circles that a major OEM of internal combustion motorcycles is poised to enter one of the electric racing series this season. Which manufacturer and which series is not being openly discussed, but judging from whom is talking about the possibility, and perhaps more importantly who is not talking about it, our best guess would be a Japanese manufacturer like Honda is at the center of the rumor. Honda has already been caught testing hybrid componentry at the 25hrs of Thunderhill, coincidentally with technology produced by electric motorcycle upstart Mission Motors.

Asphalt & Rubber got this email late last night from one of the competitors at the e-Power race at Laguna Seca this past weekend. It shows a rare glimpse into the electric racing scene, that even our own coverage can’t compare to in storytelling ability. The letter talks about sportsmanship: the sportsmanship that riders and teams share with each other, but also more importantly the sportsmanship that makes others take notice, and strive to be better. Read the letter after the jump.

The FIM’s e-Power Championship came to American soil this weekend, as the series piggybacked off the Red Bull US GP. Twelve teams from around the world arrived at Laguna Seca to test their mettle against the historic and technical track. While the racing would technically be bike against bike, the undulating tarmac of Seca was certainly also an adversary as well.

Lightning Motors and Michael Barnes took the pole position during Saturday’s qualifying, leaving MotoCzysz and Michael Czysz relegated to the second position on the starting line. Coming from behind on Sunday’s race, MotoCzysz won the e-Power race at Laguna Seca with a dramatic pass just 10 feet from the finish line.

This is what we believe is the first shot of the Brammo Empulse RR race bike that was slated to race in the e-Power Championship round at Laguna Seca this weekend. Unfortunately for fans, and for Brammo, the Empulse RR race bike suffered a critical component failure, and will have to be a scratch on Sunday…but fortunately for Brammo fans (and Brammofan) Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher said on twitter today that the team would race this year.