The TTXGP North America has announced the teams for the upcoming zero carbon races, starting at Infineon Raceway, May 16th.
The teams are:
* Lightning Motorcycles/A&A Racing
* Blue Grass Green Team (BG-GT)
* Electric Race Bikes
* Empirical Electric
* K Squared Racing
* ElectricMotorsport.com
* Square Wave Racing
* SWIGZ.Com Pro Racing
* Pril Motors
* Volt motors
* Werkstatt Racing
Who’s missing? I don’t see Brammo, Mission Motors or Motoczysz. The field does include some versions of Zero Motorcycles and the Mavizen TTX02, but mixed in are electric conversions of a Kawasaki Ninja, a 1996 Honda CBR600F3, a Suzuki GSX-R750 and even a 1966 Norton Atlas.
It will be interesting to see how it goes, but the field seems, …um, … diverse. Head to head racing? Well, as I said, it will be interesting.
I love technology and seeing people build new things and make their contraptions work, but somehow, this electric race series seems premature. That is a completely personal opinion and it may seem entirely different to you, I can appreciate that, but having lots of electric bikes that don’t seem anywhere near equal doesn’t quite fit my idea of a race. What do you guys think?
Charles says
It seems to me that we’re kind of back to the spirit of the very first races of the 20th century : there’s as much idea as teams involved. It’s time to appreciate the coming years because things will change as soon big companies will decide it’s worth beeing part of the serie.
Rules may then change to make a first money-oriented selection. The security alibi may also be used to justify the whole thing. Performances and entertainement will be there but DIY spirit will be gone.
nortley says
The early fuel burners were prematurely raced too. Good thing, or the street models that supported them might have found a less enthusiastic market.
taxman says
the more diversity you allow in the vehicles being entered in the race the more technological advances your likely to see on the race track each year. just my opinion.
Wuwei says
I like this kind of development racing that allows teams to come up with different ways of going fast. Eventually, somebody will come up with something that is so outrageously fast that the rules will have to change to limit something, like what happened with the Porsche 917 back in the 1970s, which I believe still holds some records like the most horsepower ever in a racetrack car (1,580). But, in the meantime, this is a great way to encourage innovation.
skadamo says
I agree, the race will probably not be close. We may see a good number of DNF’s too. What electric motorcycle racing lacks in close racing excitement it makes up for in it’s diversity of competitors, diversity of technology and ease of entry by race teams. The most reliable bike and the smartest energy conservation and power management strategy will play a huge role in the outcome. This brings new and exciting factors to the race and makes even a short circuit race a kind of endurance race loaded with strategy.
Brammo, MotoCzysz and other relatively new players to electric drive will not be there. The pioneers of electric motorcycles and ev’s will be at Infineon. Thunderstruck Motors, Cedric Lynch / Agni and Electric Motorsport will all be a part of the race. These companies do not rely on motorcycle sales to support their race efforts. They supply electric motorcycle / ev parts to the competitors. All the conversions you never heard of on the list are getting parts and expertise from these veterans. (Actually the only bike built from the ground up will be the Zero S from the KSquared team.)
So if you look at the players behind the scenes, this market is very ready for this type of racing. Electric racing has been going on in different forms and on lower levels for years.
DWolvin says
I think it is much like the early days of MMA, there will be some interesting races, but many will not be close. But, as things go on, teams and rules will get nailed down, and the classes will start to make more sense. Then the racing will start to be closer.
That said, I am interested in the ‘wild and wooly’ early races, when a nobody can step in and beat the big boys…
Harry Mallin says
The Rules will evolve quickly. One of the most innovative parts of the TTXGP concerns its Technical Rules. The rules for the current season are in place, but the ones for next season have been posted on a wiki and are in a constant state of change as teams, riders and race fans are encouraged to go online and shape the rules in ways that make sense to them. It’s at wiki.egrandprix.com and it’s innovation in motion.
Scott says
I do absolutely LOVE the fact that this will be raw racing with such diverse technology.
. . . but where the heck is Motoczysz? This seems perfect for them. They would have likely been in over their head in Moto-GP, but they should be men among boys in this series.
If they’re not going to race here, will they ever race anywhere?
From my reading of the Superbike Challenge GTO rules ( http://www.superbikechallenge.com/ ) the C1 should be eligible. What about that?
I think Michael Czysz has checked in here before, so how about it Mr. C if you’re reading this? Can we look forward to seeing any Motoczysz bikes – either electric or ICE – racing anywhere anythime?
Paul, if you have MC’s number I’d love to see you do a story on their plans for the future.
GenWaylaid says
For this type of racing, the results aren’t who finishes first. The results are the bikes themselves, all of which are far closer to practical electric motorcycles than anything that was available before the first TTX-GP was announced.
kneeslider says
The “racing improves the breed” idea is very valid, I understand that. But, instead of finding out who’s capable of even running a race during the actual race, why not have a pre-qualification like DARPA does with its urban challenge? They had a competition for autonomous vehicles over a tough course, but, before anyone gets to compete in that, they have to show they can complete a test course so when the real competition starts, the competitors have at least some chance of completing the challenge.
With a pre-qualifier in the TTXGP series, the real race might have some real racing. On the other hand, the early races are a sort of pre-qualifier in themselves for the later races and maybe the idea is just too much complexity for this very young series, but it’s a thought.
Merlin says
The cool thing about these races, as some others have alluded to, is the “race” of technology, not of the actual bikes. This is a series in which design changes are revolutionary, rather than simply evolutionary. Systems are being built from the ground up or cobbled together from a range of startups. This is no longer a game of “who can shave 2 pounds off their bike while squeezing out 5 more hp” but instead a game of “whose technology is going to determine the future of electric motorcycles.” As with the early days of any technology, from AC vs DC to Blu ray vs HDDVD, the people who do well now are going to determine the shape of things to come.
It’s not about who launches the first satellite, its about who makes it to the moon.
Cameron Nicol says
the first 24 hour endurance races saw everything fron 250cc to 1000cc+ competing against each other. The rules came with time but the winners were always the average motorcyclist everywhere. Factories and individuals tried everything imaginable in the early years just to finish. When you can have an RD400 and a Goldwing in the same race everyone wins because someone learns something. Race what you brought is my belief. If we all learn something we all benefit. Any electric race series will benefit us all.
Jack says
I´am missing Roehr Motorcycles with there new eSuperbike RR.
Mark Armenta says
I saw the electric practice this weekend at Infineon in Northern California.
The audience stared in silence, the bikes were silent too. you could hear the chains and tires as they went by. The announcers said there were no stats as this was the first electric races in the USA, so no way to compare motors, sizes, etc.
it was surreal, and I want one!