E-bikes race as fast as Moto GP bikes in Laguna Seca

On this past weekend more than 150.000 fans traveled to Laguna Seca to watch the Formula 1 of the two wheeled racing sport, the MotoGP. Additionally people got to witness the first conjoint e bike championship of the FIM and TTXGP racing series. Not only did they get to watch star driver Steve Rapp racing almost as fast as the MotoGP bikes but they could experience at close range what happens if American and European technology and driving ability encounter.

On Sunday at 7.25 pm German time the third of four FIM e Power International Championship races started in line with the MotoGP on Laguna Seca’s Mazda Raceway. The open practice and qualification runs already made clear that this race was going to be a very competitive and thrilling race. Eleven drivers qualified for the final race on Sunday. Daytona 200 Formula Extreme champion and 2007 championship runner up Steve Rapp raced for the Mission Motors team. Steve Atlas on the other hand who won the first US-TTXGP race on the Infineon Raceway (North Carolina) this season competed for Brammo. Laguna’s last year Champion Michael Czsyz participated for Moto Czsyz and last year’s runner up Michael Barnes raced for team Lightning. Being the only teams from Europe the German team MUENCH, their main opponent CRP Racing and the Spanish LGN Racing qualified trying to earn their next points for the FIM and TTXGP championship title.

E bikes achieve MotoGP standard – only nine seconds are between Steve Rapp and Rossi and Lorenzo.

Mission Motors‘ new developed bike the Mission R surprised everyone. During the qualification run Steve Rapp did the unthinkable. He raced an unbelievable record time of 1’31.376. With his 6 second lead before second place Michael Barns it was clear then and there that Steve Rapp was going to be very hard to beat. Compared to Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo on their MotoGP bikes Steve Rapp was only nine second slower!

FIM’s current leader Matthias Himmelmann placed fourth and MUENCH’s main opponent CRP Racing and their driver Alessandro Brannetti placed sixth.

“Our goal was to get away from Brannetti and Brammo and somehow try to place third. Unfortunately the FIM reduced to the total lap count from nine to eight laps (28,88km). This created a slight advantage for all the American teams. They need a lot of energy to operate their powerful engines and bikes. With the distance reduction however a low battery was not a problem they would have to be concerned about anymore,” says MUENCH manager Thomas Petsch.

Due to the TTE- 2’s missing strength in the lower engine speed range Matthias Himmelmann was last to get to the first curve after the start. With his outstanding driving abilities and a maximum performance however he was able to fight his way back on to the fourth place leaving Steve Atlas (Brammo) and Alessandro Brannetti (CRP Racing) closely behind. The finish curve would be the factor to decide how the race would turn out eventually. Unfortunately Steve Atlas and Alessandro Brannetti used their advantage and accelerated out of the turn. Crossing the finish line Brammo was 0.62 seconds and CRP was 0,26 seconds ahead of the German. Sixth Place for Himmelmann. The podium however was clear. With a distinct lead Mission Motors placed first ahead of Moto Czysz and Team Lightning.

Despite their defeat Thomas Petsch was still optimistic after the race: “Matthias is still leading the FIM Championship and team Mission Motors cannot gain on us. For the next season however we really need to come up with an idea.”

Taking last weekend‘s experiences into consideration it is now even more important to reconsider the concept for the future TTE 3.0 engine. Mission Motor’s Mission R is a speed torque monster and 35km/h faster during high speed. “For the first time we’re not using Lithium ion manganese cells anymore. Instead we’re driving with polymeric cells, which are harder to steer but offer a slight weight advantage on the other hand. We’re counting 20 parameters and to be able to interfere directly Matthias has the most important ones in his cockpit,” says Thomas Petsch

Qualifying results:
1 Steve Rapp Lightning Motorcycles 1'37.505
3 Michael Czysz Segway Racing MotoCzysz 1'39.272
4 Matthias Himmelmann Münch Racing Team 1'42.051
5 Steve Atlas Brammo Racing 1'42.127
6 Alessandro Brannetti CRP Racing 1'42.392
7 Thad Wolff Moto Electra Racing 1'49.309
8 Shelina Moreda CRP Racing 1'53.611
9 Marcelino Manzano LGN Racing Team 1'55.075
10 Kenyon Kluge K Squared Racing 1'59.778
11 Ely Schless Proto Moto Racing 2'00.012

Final results:
1 Steve Rapp Mission Motors 12'40.597
2 Michael Czysz Segway Racing MotoCzysz 13'20.592
3 Michael Barnes Lightning Motorcycles 13'20.825
4 Steve Atlas Brammo Racing 13'40.456
5 Alessandro Brannetti CRP Racing 13'40.812
6 Matthias Himmelmann Münch Racing Team 13'41.076
7 Thad Wolff Moto Electra Racing 12'51.894 1 lap
8 Shelina Moreda CRP Racing 13'16.681 1 lap
9 Ely Schless Proto Moto Racing 14'17.093 1 lap
10 Marcelino Manzano LGN Racing Team 14'25.614 1 lap
11 Kenyon Kluge K Squared Racing → eliminated

Further Information can be found via http://www.muenchmotorbikes.com

MÜNCH MOTORRAD TECHNIK GmbH
PB 9227 | D - 97092 Würzburg
Internet: www.muenchmotorbikes.com
Contact: Thomas Bruckert (MEDIENKONTOR)
Phone: +49 - 351-316 05 15
E-Mail: press@muenchmotorbikes.com

The MUENCH Racing Team is engaged in two international racing cups for electric motorcycles and has won both of those championships in 2010. The brand MUENCH leads back to Friedel Münch who started in 1948 at the German race track Hockenheimring. In the 1960s he manufactured the most powerful motorcycle oft those years, the legendary MUENCH Mammut TTS.

This release was published on openPR.