With the US round of the e-Power Championship closing in upon us in two weeks, news of the grid size has begun to form. We had earlier predicted that the California rounds of the TTXGP and e-Power series would attract the largest field of competitors, when compared to the other races, and we were right. Set to go off on July 25th, with the MotoGP racing weekend at Laguna Seca, the e-Power Championship race at Seca is set to have 15 electric motorcycles or more on its starting line.
While attending the Skip Barber Superbike School, A&R Editor Jensen Beeler overheard a conversation between Lead Instructor Michael Czysz and a couple of students. As the students asked Czysz if he’d be at Seca to watch the Red Bull US GP, Czysz lamented that he would not be able to watch MotoGP at Laguna Seca because MotoCzysz would be racing that weekend. As some may remember the FIM’s e-Power Championship series has a round that is occurring at Laguna Seca in coordination with Dorna and the AMA. Czysz went on to pique out ears, confirming that MotoCzysz would be racing that weekend in the FIM e-Power Championship, with the rider yet to be determined.
This weekend France played host to the FIM’s first round of the e-Power Championship, which took place in Le Mans. Starting before the Le Mans 24 Hours Endurance World Championship race, only five riders took to the starting line, with Belgian rider de Ridder not making it to venue. Taking the first win in the FIM’s first zero-emission motorcycle race was Thomas Betti, the son in the father-son duo of Betti Moto.
The electric sportbike season is rapidly approaching us, and the first event is the FIM’s e-Power Championship race at Le Mans. With six bikes and five teams on the entry list, the race will be sparse with entrants and could see the field shrink further if rumors are right that suggest one bike might be jumping ship to the Italian TTXGP series. Despite all this, the FIM’s first race has a great venue. Set to take place April 16th, the e-Power Championship launches just ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans World Endurance Championship race in Sarthe, France.
During at stop in Utrecht, Netherlands, David Emmett over at MotoMatters was able to have a sit down discussion with FIM bossman Vito Ippolito. In their conversation, Emmett gets a rare chance to ask Ippolito a variety of questions regarding the latest MotoGP rule changes, and inner-workings of the FIM, and its involvement in roadracing events.
The interview sheds terrific insight into how manufacturers, sponsorships, national and internationa pressures, and rule making shape the sport we all enjoy, and as the interview winds down, Emmett asks Ippolito about the role the FIM is taking in electric motorcycle racing, and how the FIM sees the future of motorcycling. With permission from MotoMatters we’ve reproduced this section of the interview after the jump, but recommend everyone to read the full interview transcript on MotoMatters.com. It’s well worth the read, and one of the best interviews we’ve seen in a while in the racing space.
UPDATE 2: The Laguna Seca round is now officially added to the e-Power Championship.
UPDATE: It would seem the folks at Laguna Seca are still negotiating with the FIM, and nothing has been signed yet. This statement does confirm however that Seca is the targeted venue for the e-Power Championship.
The FIM isn’t saying it outright, but it looks as if the e-Power Championship is slated to occur during MotoGP’s stop at Laguna Seca on July 25th. Listed as “TBA,” the FIM’s new venue is listed as being organized by the AMA, and of course the race falls on the same date as the US GP, so putting two and two together on this one isn’t too hard. This addition to the schedule comes after the FIM cancelled the e-Power Championship’s stop at the Doha endurance race, and the Dutch GP at Assen. More after the jump.
The FIM has cut Doha and Assen from it’s e-Power electric motorcycle racing program’s list of 6 race venues. Keeping with e-Power tradition, FIM gave no reason for the decision. FIM claims interest from teams is high but it appears it’s not high enough to support six races in 2010.
In only about 6 months, the electric motorcycle racing world went from one high profile race in 2009 at the Isle Of Man, to three competing organizations and an abundance of high profile of venues. Three crowns are up for the taking and it appears there is not enough incentive or teams to fight for all of them. In racing, the value of the crown is usually measured by the caliber of teams fighting for it.
Roeher Motorcycles, maker of the 180hp supercharged 1250sc, has announced that they will be entering into the electric motorcycle scene with two bike offerings. The American sportbike manufacturer has also announced its intent to go racing with a company backed racing effort in the upcoming 2010 US TTXGP series. Roehr will also supply their eSuperbikes race prepped to teams wishing to race in either the TTXGP series or the FIM’s e-Power Championship.
UPDATE: Neal Saiki comments about using the Mavizen chassis.
Zero Motorcycles has announced their entry into the 2010 TTXGP series, where they will race against Team Agni, and competitors using the CRP Racing and Mavizen platforms. Early reports peg Zero as also using a Mavizen TTX02 platform, essentially a KTM RC8 chassis gutted of its ICE components. Despite using the Mavizen/KTM chassis, the race bike will be powered by Zero’s Z-Force battery packs and motors.