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The Starks are allowed to race the SX Tour (french championship) by the french federation. The main races are under FIM rules, so no Stark.
Tonus was supposed to race SX1 in SX Tour. After the bike quit on him, he quit on the bike, end of the story.
First time I actually see the Stark "live"...
Honestly... beautiful design. But if the white or grey plastics are real classy, that dark red hue is not flattering.
As of racing...
1-The Varg definitely is a holeshot machine
2-It's obviously a real MX bike
3-It's a boat anchor in the whoops -with both Do and Varize.
Do's been around for a long time, I've seen him race many time and he knows how to skim whoops. He's clearly not able to do that on the Varg. It hops like a rodeo bronco. If I'd have to put a guess, I'd say whoops are the part of the track where the actual heavyweight of the bike makes itself felt... The rear wheel really seems like it wants to go all the way down to the bottom of the whoops.
Maybe it's OK with a superfast top rider, but they sure didn't look good.
Lots of little precision mistakes on the rhythm sections too...
Maybe it's the riders -but I have the feeling Do was way better on an ICE bike.
I haven't seen any explanation for Tonus not showing up, do you have a link?
Makes sense for FIM rules, I was wondering if the organizers had any possibility to grant a wildcard if they wanted to, probably not.
Agreed for the whoops where they seem to suffer more. I wonder if extra power (capped to 60 hp for SX1 instead of 48 hp for SX2) could get things better in these sections? Or maybe it just recovers more easily in other sections with closer to full power.
Anyway SX2 makes no sense for the Varg, it is 15 kg heavier than a standard 250 with full fuel tank!
I would assume the difference in whoop pad performance from ICE bikes to Stark would be the rear wheel speed and lack of engine inertia standing the bike up.
Will be fun to see how they deal with this as they become more prominent in SX/AX races.
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Let's say I heard it through the grapevine.
Now most articles report that the Varg was supposed to race main event SX2 in Paris but was denied at the last minute due to their competitors complaining about it.
Anyway the FIM seems happy to welcome the Varg in superdenduro FIM world championship so I think the situation will be clearer in a few months.
Nice interview with Josh Varize here on Vital https://www.vitalmx.com/features/josh-varize-talks-stark-vital-mx-trans…
Based on the interview, I wonder if a virtual clutch is in the works or maybe the bike just needs more "response" at the 48hp setting.Though having 60 hp and hitting the throttle to triple could probably work as well.
It doesn't feel fair to have the bike limited to 48 hp when 250 race bikes make 60hp.
I don't see a mechanical clutch making any sense.
Interesting to see how the bike develops!
The Varg is limited to 48 hp against 250s and 60 hp against 450s because it's pretty much the power that standard bikes make at the crank. It's also just an experiment for now and could be modified.
Adjusting the power just sliding a bar on the phone must be great in real life to learn the bike, to adapt it to different riders skill sets or various environments (track, trail, enduro...).
But as far as SX/MX competition goes, the Varg will naturally be more at ease at 60 hp against 450s. I feel its weight is more of a handicap against much lighter 250s.
It's only one part of the actual situation.
Dylan Ferrandis tried the Varg a few weeks ago while he was in between jobs. Here is what he thinks about it:
I tested the Stark Varg on a Supercross track, and it's completely different, but the potential is there. On the other hand, I'm not sure that all riding styles will be able to adapt to the specificities of the electric motor. It's a machine that's very different from a combustion engine. I think this brand can aim for the top level, but I don't think it can beat the best current machines that quickly. More development is needed.
Besides Taddy B, Stark just signed another world champion. Eddie Jay Wade was 85cc world champion at the tender age of 13 back in 2017. No word on where he will race, could be Arenacross UK along Thomas Do or any other European championship I guess.
2023 SX tour is a wrap.
In SX2 Maxime Desprey was untouchable, just one race win away (Paris 1) from a perfect season. To give an idea about the level of the championship, at Paris Supercross he was lapping about 1s slower than Shimoda.
Thomas Do finished the season on a low, with a 5th and a 12th (dead last from the second lap, possibly a crash?).
Still, Thomas Do season marked the first time a rider competed SX national championship on a Stark Varg, he raced in 8 out of 10 rounds (raced a Yam in SX1 for the first 2 rounds).
Do was competitive on the Varg from the start, which is a good indicator of the potential of this bike, and as far as I know he did not suffer any technical problem all season, no DNF and no issue with range or charging time between sessions.
As part of the deal with FFM he could not be ranked in the championship nor get any prize bonus; he easily qualified for all main events and with results of 6-5-4-6-4-8-5-12, he would have ended 6th in the championship (if he had been ranked). Nothing earth shattering but in my book that's a very respectable result for a brand new bike from a new manufacturer and all done on a last minute deal (missing first 2 rounds). I mean they started racing the Varg a couple of months after its release, talk about some hunger to compete!
Now after this experiment, we'll see what the FFM will decide for next year, if the Varg can truly be included in the championship, and also if it could be allowed to race in SX1 (presumably capped at 60 hp) where it would probably be more at ease than in SX2 (capped at 48 hp and up against much lighter bikes).
To make it a level playing field, would ALL bikes in SX1 be capped to 60hp?
You seem pretty impressed with the Varg, @Beagle. Where's your personal ride report?
Oh I would love to try it, maybe next spring.
In this thread I just gather racing infos and results for the Varg as a quick way to find info for those interested. What better way than racing to see if this bike is all unicorns and rainbows or if it could be the real deal?
But I cater to all crowds, it's also a great opportunity to downvote reality for those inclined to do so
And yourself, what do you think about these results in SX tour and podiums in AX UK and Finland?
Thomas Do and Stark's "competitive from the start" love story lasted as long as one between a rockstar and a top model.
After 5 races, the divorce is official.
Thomas Do is leaving Stark.
In 2024 he was supposed to race AX UK and SX tour on the Varg, actually he is currently 3rd in AX UK championship with 4 podiums in 6 races.
That's a shame to see it ending that way, I hope he'll get a great ride next year.
Here are some excerpts about what he said to motoverte:
The factory didn't accept the offer I made to continue this adventure. I simply re-evaluated this offer with my agent to take into account the risks we're taking, the resources they have and their objective at the value I felt I was worth.
The bike's great, there are a number of things we need to change if we're to perform well in Supercross, but that's it. I've never had any problems when I've ridden it. You hear all kinds of things, but in six months of riding the Stark, I haven't had a single problem.
In fact, you need to perfect your bike according to the discipline you choose. If you're doing enduro cross, the bike will require different evolutions than if you're doing supercross. For an amateur, I think it's the perfect bike. For a pro, you really need to fine tune some details. Two examples. For supercross, we need to work on getting out of corners and its behavior in the whoops. In Lyon, we do 25 laps in the final. If there's a slight problem in the whoops, you have to put up with it for 25 laps, and that creates a big gap. I'm convinced that, sooner or later, electric bikes will be as good as combustion ones, but there's still some work to be done. Well, the aim wasn't to win everything already this year, it was to race the bike and perfect its development. We worked on the weight, the height of the footrests and we planned to make longer swingarms.
Today, the Stark is the only electric motorcycle on the market, and there's no point in having a single-brand championship. In a few years' time, there will undoubtedly be other brands, and then it should be possible to have an electric category alongside the ICE one.
You can't miss a start with this bike, everyone will know how to get out in front with a Stark, that's for sure!
Interesting he mentions Stark's resources.
Pit Row
In AX UK, Stark will field Jack Brunell (currently 4th in the championship, behind Do, after competing the first round on a Husqvarna) and Eddie Jay Wade. Next stop Manchester AO Arena on January 6th.
In Australia, electrics will be legal to race from January 1st 2024 in amateur, state and national championships in MX, enduro, track, dirt track, flat track and Supermoto.
Power (measured at the rear wheel) must be restricted to 48 hp for MX2 (club level only), 60 hp for MX1 and 80 hp for open category (E3).
Thanks 7eleven and Last2Stroke, more details here https://www.vitalmx.com/forums/moto-related/stark-varg-lls-vet-classes?….
Aussie MX championship starts in 3 months, I wonder if Stark will field a team or wildcards, maybe not, Pro MX 25 min + 1 lap races is asking a lot from the Varg 1.0 (though at club level it should not be an issue). Seeing Stark competing next fall in Aussie SX (10 laps, 8 min races with the odd 20 laps race) is a much safer bet.
And make that a 3 riders team for Stark in AX UK, Justin Bogle is in!
You seem pretty invested in making sure folks have 1st hand experience with the Stark before they can have a positive opinion....so what is your investment in that?
Why don't we see you policing the Stark naysayers as well....none of them have ridden one yet they have formed an opinion on them as well......why do you only care to call out the folks who have a positive view on the Stark?
You don't have an agenda do you?
Since Stark is hiring all the washed out racers they can find, I sure hope they can go and race WSX. They're a match made in heaven.
The BOGEYMAN!
He just resorts to insults and doesn't offer any constructive input to contradict the positive things said about Vargs or Electric MX bikes'. And just likes to call out people for things , he really doesn't know about. And clutter up a thread that was intended to talk about Vargs being raced.
Looks like M.A, Motorcycling Australia have just released the classes the Stark will be able to race in over here.
They will be allowed to race in the MX1 (60HP Mode) and MX2 (48HP Mode). at club level
For State or National level events they will only be permitted in the MX1 class set in the 60HP mode.
Will be interesting to see if any line up when our nationals start in late March / Early April next year
Not just Mx1, MX2 and MX3, M.A. is looking to the future, they have created electric classes E1 48hp, E2 60hp and E3 80hp...
Yeah strange, they are limited to just MX1 for State or National level racing for MX, but looks like for Off Road / Enduro Events they can run all three classes at national level if locked in at the correct HP.
Though pretty much going to be a non issue for all but Sprint events when it comes to Off-Road / Enduro, can't see them being very handy in a 2 or 3 hour cross country race.
It makes sense for national and state level racing to limit them to MX1, relative performance level hasn't been proven for MX2, it might need to be adjusted to 45hp or 50hp or somewhere in between. At club level it doesn't matter, most riders don't care about the plastic trophy!
The fastest racers will still win.
I love the previous suggestion:
MX3 - if you can ride it, you can race it.
690cc 4 stroke
500cc 2 stroke
Electric anything
Steam, rubber band, nuclear.
1980 model, 2024 model, one off works bike. Whatever.
30 mins + 2
Next race after MX1 and MX2.
Let’s go!
That sounds like a great plan!!!! Make that the rule for the Vet classes and it would be perfect.
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