It’s been nearly six months since the inaugural TTXGP race at the Isle of Man, but electric motorcycle racing seems to be a growing subject as of late. As discussion surrounds both the FIM and TTXGP, and their respective series, we’re beginning to see teams make their 2010 racing commitments. We reached out to Michael Czysz of MotoCzysz to see why his company has been suspiciously silent on the issue to date.
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.
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.
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.
Italy’s CRP Racing has announced it will be entering into the electric racing gig, and exclusivel providing electric motorcycles to teams in the upcoming TTXGP 2010 series, which includes PRO1, PRO2, Isle of Man, and circuit races across the globe. Launching with their Italian styled eCRP 1.0 (to debut at the NEC show in Birmingham), CRP Racing is the first electric motorcycle concept to come from Italy and enter into the electric motorcycle racing fray.
This week the FIM announced the 2010 FIM e-Power International Championship will run in 2010 to showcase the latest in electric motorcycle technology. Four dates are planned so far that ironically run during endurance events. The details of the electric motorcycle class have not been announced so don’t start working on your battery swap technology just yet.
The biggest shock in this announcement is the absense of eGrandPrix in the press release but the silence told the tale. Azhar Hussain (CCR). Mr. Hussain explained he will continue with the events he has planned and has the backing of the major teams that have been involved with TTXGP to date. He expressed regret that the enthusiasts will not see technology improve as fast as it would if the two groups worked together.
Walking around EICMA, we saw many eye-catching things, but the XOR XO2 Urban Transformer takes the prize for stopping us dead in our tracks. It’s a collapsable electric scooter for the urban chic…or something like that.
With the announcement of Mavizen’s TTX02 KTM RC8 look-alike taking up all of the spot light, Mavizen’s other project the TTX03 has quietly been hinted at by the company, and is expected to be an electric supermoto racer. Continuing what is shaping up to be the worst naming structure in the industry, the TTX03 also shows the links between Mavizen and the TTXGP organizers.
Mavizen has unveiled their TTX02 electric race bike today at SEMA, and as we suspected surrounding the Agni powerplant is a sourced KTM RC8 chassis.
Over-shadowing the 130mph top speed, is the fact that each TTX02 comes with dedicated IP access, on-board web server, and connectivity to a wifi network. A such, each TTX02 can be connected to via a wifi enabled laptop. More on that and videos after the jump.
Zero Motorcycles has announced its launch of a fleet sales program aimed at corporations, non-profits, government bodies, and small business owners who are looking to make multiple unit purchases. The program is set to launch November 2nd, with pricing being based on volume and support requirements. It’s hard to make B2B sales sound sexy, but consider the missed opportunity that was Erik Estrada on a Zero DS…if only we could turn back time.
