AMA and Electric Motorcycles in AMA races

[Beagle]

It took 6 years for Honda/Mugen between the first official presentation of the prototype (2017) and its first race (2023). And 6 years later still no specs and no release date.

It took 3 years for Stark to go from funding the company, gathering investors, building a prototype... to building a factory, racing the bike and releasing thousands of bikes.

Honda is a mastodon, that comes with pros and cons. Looking at their EV record, 10 years after Tesla started selling cars, Honda are still way way behind, both in product quality and in sales, and cars are much more important to them than bikes.

I think Stark stands a decent chance in this game.

Oh, and first came here to say that the Varg is now legal to race in Finland. Now roll on AX UK rounds 3 and 4 (tonight and tomorrow in Belfast).

 

[Jocke_D]

I have seen lots of Varg owners videos from northern Europe, seems like there is a lot of enthusiasm for the bike up there.

FFM (France) is yet to release the details about the Varg homologation but I imagine it will be pretty similar to what Motorcycling Australia did.

And agreed, all these federations and organizers (including AX UK, Spanish hard enduro, Austrian enduro) being open to electrics, and experience from these competitions (safety, performance balance...) will make it easier for others to follow. They will have less excuses

Sweden here...
It feels like there are Vargs racing in various winter series every week end here.

Some organizers are hiding behind the fact the regulations say that organizers must have a special place for charging. "We can't make the room for you", therefore you can't compete. Some welcome us with open arms. I can't really say anything about the ratio between friendly/non friendly though. This is enduro. I'm not into MX at all.

National Supermoto championship will have a special electric series. A race day consists of three motos. We will get points in moto 1&3 to be able to charge during moto2. Of course we are able to race all motos and get points in the normal series but taking the risk of running out of juice.

 

[Beagle]

1st and 2nd in the heats and 3rd in the main event tonight for Justin Bogle at round 3 of AX UK.

Here is a great interview he did before the races:

 

[Beagle]

Kullas wins round 4 and that's also a double podium for Stark with Brunell 2nd and Wade 3rd. Bogle had some kind of incident on the first lap got last losing 10 s in the process then made a great recovery to shot up to 5th lapping faster than anybody but Kullas.

Brunell is still the championship leader.

That was round 4 and so far there have been Stark riders on the podium at every round and all of their riders have been on the podium: Do, Brunell, Bogle, Wade. Now looking forward to a Bogle win!

 

[snikers]

It took 6 years for Honda/Mugen between the first official presentation of the prototype (2017) and its first race (2023). And 6 years later still no specs and no release date.

It took 3 years for Stark to go from funding the company, gathering investors, building a prototype... to building a factory, racing the bike and releasing thousands of bikes.

Honda is a mastodon, that comes with pros and cons. Looking at their EV record, 10 years after Tesla started selling cars, Honda are still way way behind, both in product quality and in sales, and cars are much more important to them than bikes.

I think Stark stands a decent chance in this game.

Oh, and first came here to say that the Varg is now legal to race in Finland. Now roll on AX UK rounds 3 and 4 (tonight and tomorrow in Belfast).

Could you please send a link to information about Varg being able to race in Finland? I couldn't find it earlier. Would help a lot. Thanks!

 

[Beagle]

Could you please send a link to information about Varg being able to race in Finland? I couldn't find it earlier. Would help a lot. Thanks!

Sorry, it comes from a Finn rider on another forum, can't find anything online but I'll put info here if I get anything more tangible.

 

[racer726]

Please don't start a fight. Many of us raced in AMA races in the past. There were no rules against electric bikes until the 2024 AMA Rules came out.

It actually was in the ama amateur rulebook prior to 2024. Many didn't read it closely though. They were only allowed if supplemental race rules said so which was rare. It was better than an outright ban though. My local district even put no electric bikes on every class line in the rules.

 

[racer726]

 

[Beagle]

Hold the press, there was actually ONE Varg racing in the US sprint enduro series!

Since the AMA won't approve supplemental rules mixing electrics with ICE anymore, the organizers created the Pro Electric class.

Trevor Jones is running away with the championship, someone should give him a run for his money!

https://ussprintenduro.com/

 

[bayodome]

Hold the press, there was actually ONE Varg racing in the US sprint enduro series!

Since the AMA won't approve supplemental rules mixing electrics with ICE anymore, the organizers created the Pro Electric class.

Trevor Jones is running away with the championship, someone should give him a run for his money!

View attachment 10863


View attachment 10864

https://ussprintenduro.com/

Haha love that this series is doing what they can to get full-size eMotos racing. Wish it was just a little closer to my area. Looks like a fun series/format to try out.

 

[Beagle]

Last night in AX UK, Bogle won both heats, lead the main from the start and for 3/4 of the race but finished second behind Kullas.
That was another double podium for Stark with Brunell in 3rd.
Can't wait to see what Bogle can do in SX tour this summer (and if they'll get a french rider on the Varg).

 

[Beagle]

AX UK round 6, in the heats Brunell got 2nd and 3rd while Bogle went 3rd and 1st.
In the main Kullas won, Brunell in 2nd and Bogle in 4th make a Do sandwich, the ex-Stark rider back on the podium in 3rd.
Brunell still leads the championship by 1 point over Kullas, Bogle is 3rd, the Stark boys still comfortably lead the team rankings.

 

[DonCox]

AX UK round 6, in the heats Brunell got 2nd and 3rd while Bogle went 3rd and 1st.
In the main Kullas won, Brunell in 2nd and Bogle in 4th make a Do sandwich, the ex-Stark rider back on the podium in 3rd.
Brunell still leads the championship by 1 point over Kullas, Bogle is 3rd, the Stark boys still comfortably lead the team rankings.

Thanks for the updates.

 

[richadd]

Exploring the intersection of AMA racing and electric motorcycles brings excitement to the forefront. The integration of electric bikes in AMA races signifies a technological shift, sparking curiosity among racing enthusiasts. It not only embraces innovation but also poses a thrilling challenge for riders, shaping the future of motorsports. gb whatsapp Pro

 

[Philip]

Exploring the intersection of AMA racing and electric motorcycles brings excitement to the forefront. The integration of electric bikes in AMA races signifies a technological shift, sparking curiosity among racing enthusiasts. It not only embraces innovation but also poses a thrilling challenge for riders, shaping the future of motorsports. gb whatsapp Pro

Wow! The AI is getting so much better.

 

[Swank171]

Wow! The AI is getting so much better.

Hahaha. So many words to just say something that actually means nothing…like politics.

 

[Redbull]

Exploring the intersection of AMA racing and electric motorcycles brings excitement to the forefront. The integration of electric bikes in AMA races signifies a technological shift, sparking curiosity among racing enthusiasts. It not only embraces innovation but also poses a thrilling challenge for riders, shaping the future of motorsports. gb whatsapp Pro

This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.

 

[Foss]

Exploring the intersection of AMA racing and electric motorcycles brings excitement to the forefront. The integration of electric bikes in AMA races signifies a technological shift, sparking curiosity among racing enthusiasts. It not only embraces innovation but also poses a thrilling challenge for riders, shaping the future of motorsports. gb whatsapp Pro

ChatGPT is on point! Gotta mention to make it high level next time so it doesn’t sound too corporate.

 

[Beagle]

Here you'll find some FIM procedures for racing electrics, though interestingly it doesn't seem to apply to the one and only FIM World championship for electric bikes, and the most powerful ones at that, MotoE?

2024 FIM Electric Motorbikes - Procedures for Organisers & Officials | FIM

www.fim-moto.com

FIM CTI - Guidelines for Electric motorcycles - 20.12.2023 | FIM

www.fim-moto.com

Basically that's the codification of all the whoops Stark did jump through for FIM super Enduro championship... right before they forbid electrics at the last minute.
I think Motorcycling Australia will follow that, it's consistent with their own publications, not sure what the exact rules would be in France yet.

 

[Beagle]

AXUK round 7 Birmingham

Bogle 3rd and a win in the heats, Brunell 2nd then DNF. Kullas got similar results to Brunell, unfortunately his own crash resulted in a suspected broken collarbone so he was out for the night.
Soubeyras won the main with Do and Woodcock completing the podium.
Luxury sub, Soubeyras was on fire, he won his heats and the main!

Great night for the french riders going 1-2, lackluster round for Stark with Brunell 4th and Bogle 5th. Actually that's the first round without a single Stark rider on the podium!

This championship turned into a race of attrition, Brunell stayed healthy and already has one hand on the trophy, 12 points lead with one race to go, I think all he needs is a top ten result at Wembley to be crowned AXUK champion.
There is a real possibility that Stark could get their first pro title at their first try, answer in 3 weeks.