Daytona International Speedway this weekend was host to the thundering sound of quiet electric motorcycle racing action with the 2012 TTXGP World Championship race. In an exciting race on Sunday morning, Steve Atlas took home the World Championship title for Brammo, winning it from two-time Champion Matthias Himmelmann of Muench Racing who came in 2nd.
The weekend saw an amazing performance by both Brammo riders who, during practice sessions, were hitting speeds in the high 160's (miles/hr) and Eric Bostrom was recorded at 170.1 miles/hr. This speed is nothing short of amazing for electric motorcycles, and just two years ago Lightning Motorcycles set the electric motorcycle land speed record at Bonneville Salt Flats in the low 170'ss. Lightning Motorcycles went on in 2011 to set the land speed record for electric motorcycles at 216 miles/hr. Also, earlier this summer Larry McBride riding the Lawless Rocket hit 200 miles/hr with an electric motorcycle in a drag race. However these speeds by the Brammo boys were in regular track racing conditions, and while abetted by the long straightaways of the Daytona Speedway represents another milestone in electric motorcycle performance. For Sunday's race the team dialed the power back slightly but was still targeting top speeds in the high 160's, with Steve Atlas apparently hitting 169 miles/hr. It's believed these speeds are the fastest speeds ever recorded for an electric motorcycle in race conditions.
