One of the races running alongside the MotoGP round at Laguna Seca last weekend was the FIM ePower/TTX championship event for electric motorcycles, with Team Icon Brammo fielding new rider Eric Bostrom alongside existing rider Steve Atlas. And after a challenging practice on Friday due to minor technical issues, which continued into Saturday qualifying, the team were able to come good on Sunday.
First place went to Barracuda Lightning’s Michael Barnes, with an average speed of 134.123 Km/h, who finished 2.9 seconds ahead of Brammo’s Steve Atlas, and new boy Eric Bostrom taking third to finish out the podium. Bostrom’s result was more impressive given that it was only his second time on the bike.
“I only rode the bike a week ago and I said to the team, “If I don’t like it I am out.” But just pulling out of the pits and coming out of the race track, it put a big smile on my face and surpassed all my expectations; I am still coming up to speed on how to ride the bike and it may have caught me out a little bit. With Barnes setting a blistering pace it was cool to see the other Brammo up there and my team mate Steve pushing me to go faster. The biggest disappointment for me was not being able to keep Barnes honest and push him to the end,” said Bostrom.
The first double podium for the team has put them in a positive mood for the final round of the TTX North American Championship at Miller Motorsports Park.
For those still working it out, an average of 134.123 Km/h equates to an average of 83.34 miles per hour. That’s actually just 24 Km/h down on the average speed of MotoGP race winner Casey Stoner, showing how far electric motorcycles have already come in a few short years.
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