Monday, May 17, 2010

David Versus Goliath

The morbidly curious among us loyal (and potentially rabid) electric motorcycle road racing heads may want to know how Azhar Hussain’s opening round of the North American TTXGP Championship held at Infineon Speedway this past weekend (16 May 2010) compared to the FIM’s inaugural ePower International Championship opener held at LeMans, France last month.


Based on the known facts and figures blatantly stolen from PlugBike.com, AsphaltAndRubber.com, eMotoRules.com, IvarKvadsheim, the FIM, HellForLeather.com (who seriously know how to have a good time), and eGrandPrix.com; David did indeed slay Goliath.

The FIM had their asses handed to them not only on quantity of entries, but also on quality of participation. Well known, and well respected, veteran road racers Michael Barnes and Shawn Higbee swapped positions on their respective Lightning Motors and Zero/Agni machines throughout the 11-lap final event, with Higbee coming out on top at the end. Although there were technical issues for nearly every team on the grid, there were still some great battles, and it was a fantastic start to the e-season.

So, how did the two competing opening events compare? Here we go:
Okay, I had to throw in the scooter stat because I just don’t care for the silly things. Saying the word scooter actually makes me vomit in my mouth a little. I think the French have a term for a person who shows up to an international road race on a scooter, “le sac de douche” (okay, maybe it’s an American term). I mean really, how much of a DB are you to put your pit bike on the grid at the legendary LeMans circuit and not mean it as a joke? I digress.

In less than a week (22-May-2010), the FIM gets their first chance to redeem themselves and save some face on the international e-racing stage. The entire electric road racing scene will be looking toward Albacete, Spain to see how it all turns out. For now that’s TTXGP 1, ePower 0.


Sources: As Hyperlinked (please visit them for more info, and far better writing)
Photo: (Higbee and Barnes) stolen from AsphaltAndRubber.com