Browsing on Facebook I found this item posted by Brammo showing some pictures with them meeting Chip Yates at Thunderhill Raceway. Thunderhill is of course Brammo’s usual test track. Chip Yates is an AMA licensed racer, and in 2010-11 he had built an electric motorcycle meant for racing. He’d originally…
Here’s an observation that often comes up at the electric races I attend: Isn’t it nice to be able to have a conversation while a race is going on? For many, racing is not just the speed, it’s the noise, the smell of burnt fuel, or burnt rubber, the unhealthy…
As we predicted, Lightning Motorcycles with Carlin Dunne did win outright in the motorcycle division. That news is being overshadowed by a shocker of a win by Sebastien Loeb with an 8:13.878 lap time that demolished the previous record of 9:46.164 held by Rhys Millen, but we’re here to discuss…
At yesterday’s REFUEL race there was a conspicuous missing participant who had shown up to the previous four REFUEL’s, and holds the track record for electric race cars. Namely, Kleenspeed. It was largely because Kleenspeed was absent that Brammo’s Eric Bostrom was able to win the event outright with a…
The REFUEL race series is an all electric vehicle “race” that’s more like a track day for electric vehicle owners, and just held its fifth annual event. The series is organized by Speed Ventures, a racing instruction school that operates at least out of Laguna Seca Raceway. I’ve attended 4…
The big hairy audacious goals set by Lightning Motorcycles when the company was started including qualifying at the top of the pack in a major international race against gas powered bikes. A few years ago that goal seemed ridiculous, even in 2010 at the inaugural TTXGP at Infineon Raceway (now…
While Lightning Motorcycles is turning in awesome results at Pikes Peak, there are some other electric teams on the mountain as well. I want to take a look at some of the other results. Jeremiah Johnson made a long posting talking about his recent results, and how his buddy Jeff…
At Pikes Peak they’re getting ready for the big race on Sunday, and in today’s qualifying round Lightning Motorcycles’ rider Carlin Dunne took pole position while beating the next gas bike racer by over 6 seconds. This is a historic moment, because it marks the first time any electric vehicle…
Nissan NISMO ZEOD RC electrified race car Nissan is definitely heading to the 24 Hrs of Le Mans Garage 56, in 2014, with an electric race car. The Nissan ZEOD RC, for Zero Emission On Demand Racing Car, is being designed for drive train flexibility to use both electric motors,…
The eRoadRacing World Cup is finally getting underway with a season-opener race for European eRoadRacing, in Valencia Spain. The launch of the European eRoadRacing 2013 season takes place as the main event at the Circuit de la Comunitat Valenciana Ricardo Tormo during its Green Prix weekend on Sunday 14 July. Gonzalo…
Another automaker has broken the electric car laptime at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. This is the famed huge track in Germany, the north loop (the Nordschleife) of which is 20 kilometers long (12 miles). The new laptime, announced a week ago, was set by Mercedes-Benz with the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Coupé Electric…
The Formula E technology subsidiary, Spark Racing Technology, announced the other day another partnership with a technology provider. The new deal is with Williams Advanced Engineering, who will design and assemble the battery packs for the SRT 01E. This is the electric race car that will be used in the…
The Pikes Peak International Hill Climb is coming up, and Lightning Motorcycles is already on site, testing their race bike with rider Carlin Dunne, and setting history by turning in practice times that beat the gas bike racers. Specifically, in the very first practice round for the 2013 Pikes Peak…
The greenest way of getting around may be walking, or riding a bicycle. Taking mass transit is generally very green because a bus or train can carry more people per square mile than can individually driven cars, the vehicles are reused by multiple passengers, better fuel efficiency per passenger mile,…
On Tuesday the US Dept. of Energy unveiled the eGallon, in an attempt to dispel some confusion about the cost of operating an electric or gasoline powered car. Many are reacting to the high price of gasoline by looking for alternatives, but then get lost in the question whether the…
