Stark Varg Racing Debut

Correct, the Varg battery is smaller than an EV RallyCross car, so should result in a smaller fire .

9 Firetrucks were sent to deal with that fire at Lydden,

so with the smaller battery on a Varg , I guess 2-3 Firetrucks should be enough when a Varg lights up 😊

What you're missing is that the Varg charging draws as much current as a large home fridge (10 A).

So if two gas rally cars catch on fire they should probably cancel the motocross race or at least ban all the gas bikes?  This argument is idiotic and so are the people telling Varg riders they can't race because a completely unrelated fire happened weeks beforehand, it's a lazy and irrational position to take.

How many Vargs or Altas have caught fire ?   I have not been able to find any info on fires involving either bike.  I do remember when some KTM's caught fire at Unadilla and burnt the Butler Bros rig. 

How many wildfires have been started by bikes without spark arrestor's?  There is a much higher risk of an ICE bike starting a wildfire than an Electric bike. Should ICE bikes not be allowed to race enduro because of that fire risk?

According to  Smithsonian.com  Between 1992 and 2012 there were 1.2-1.5M Forrest fires caused by humans , 11% of them are from equipment use/OHV's.  

That is a long history of real things happening.  I guess I can understand  wanting to prevent a potential disaster with there not being a long history of data for the Vargs. But it sounds like there is more to it than just being overly cautious. 

It sucks , but in time I'm sure it will change .    

Fires happen , we had one in the workshop, and we were equipped to deal with it. 

The Rallycross fire was a top team who have run for years, and lost everything , because once they go up, you cant put them out. 

There are lots of rules for fuel and all riders must have a decent size fire extinguisher in the stall at all times. 

Yes there is a risk, but you can mitigate it with the stuff you have on hand. 

As of now, the insurance risk has to be covered, and if the underwriters want no part of it, do we all just stop racing? 

If the insurance people can be convinced there is low risk, then you might be OK, but already there are issues with tracks not having the correct stuff to deal with them, or training. Who pays?  Tell me my entry is going up £20 so we can have new fire extinguishers to deal with it, or are you prepared to pay for it? 

What happens in the car world is mostly irrelevant because there's as much difference in battery capacity between a Varg and a car as there is between a Varg and an electric bicycle (one order of magnitude). Then talking about fast charging car you add another order of magnitude as well. 

Varg charger is 3.3 kWh, you plug it to a standard house outlet and it draws about 10 A, like a big ass fridge.

I guess the manufacturers would need to educate the insurers first 

Let's talk about motorcycles. MotoE entire epaddock disappeared in flames in 2019, it started around midnight (no bikes were charging). All electric motorcycles were destroyed before the inaugural season even started! Then what happened ? After this catastrophe, they've studied the incident, updated their equipment, procedures and safety guidelines. Now 5 years later, they've done over 50 races, thousands of charging cycles, hundreds of high speed crashes, over 100 000 km raced, no problem. And we're talking about race prototypes with top speed over 280 km/h, batteries 3 times bigger (18 kWh) and fast charging at 20 kW.

Safety is paramount, it's also important to carry proper risk assessment and hopefully tracks and insurers will familiarize themselves with electrics.

my friend and I asked for a local race and when trying to follow protocol and ask ahead about racing my electric bike. Here is the answer the race promoter received from the AMA.

It is honestly pretty sad but not surprising on the AMA’s behalf and pathetic if they are getting calls daily of people wanting to race, you can’t get any better sign that things are changing and you need to adapt quickly. 

There is some AMA racing going on, electrics are racing at least in US Sprint Enduro, GNCC as well as Motoclimb super series obviously.

Just going by what people reported here, US amateurs also have non AMA options like TOR, BillaDilla...

When dozens of countries are already letting them race, the only way forward is to allow them. Isn't the goal of amateur racing to let people race? Pro racing is different because a lot of money is involved but for amateurs lots of countries are showing it's not that hard.

What a Varg does best?  I got the holeshot on a group of A level riders at a muddy harescramble a week ago.  We use a dead engine start format.  The series decided that any E bike riders had to have their throttle hand on their helmet before the start flag is raised.   At 45 HP, the Varg got great traction even with the OEM rear tire that had 15+ hours on it.

What a varg does best...

Cheat!

Now you’re moving the goal post to Varg riders are cheating?

Noted. 
 

Still on the campaign against child slavery too? 

and expose dated ICE technology!  

By that logic electric start is cheating. Give it up.

"Dead Engine Start" Put that in your E-pipe and smoke it.  Twist and go, No kicker, no start button, no clutch, no gearbox, totally level playing field. My logic, lol.

The problem here is their job as promoters is to provide a fair and competitive environment for the racers, not to try and promote the most recent technology.

I bet it makes for a fun day at the track.

Still waiting to hear if I can race the YZ-EMX in Endurocross this year.  Even though I’ve raced an electric bike the last two years without incident, apparently it’s suddenly unsafe to other riders, who have never once complained about it I might add.  Like TG says, you really can’t make this shit up. . .

You know, I agree with you a bit, it's a bit cheating, it's a much better bike than the current 4-strokes, at least for non-pros.

I'm never in the wrong gear, at local track in some corners I blast away from riders who are much faster than I am, but those suckers have to click thru 2-3-4 gear... and coming in hot into a corner I've noticed how much better I am than before, no fiddling around with that foot break, super stable Ryno approved stance

Battery lasts well over a moto for me, no problems at all. 

Perfect Vet bike... elevates my riding. Cheating? Maybe so...  but isn't that motor sports in general, new tech comes along and replaces old. F1 cars are not manual shifting any longer and have tons of tech. Cheating? Maybe so...

Thats the great thing about run-what-ya-brung, there is no cheating.

I know Shawn (Robert); he let me use the Ryobi generator at an enduro we were both riding because those cheating fossil fuel bikes got to have a trailer bring their gas cans to them to refuel and the club didn't provide any charging stations for us E-bikes! 

I raced MX yesterday; the first moto I only used 10% of my battery.  The track owner told me if I wanted to I could use the 110V outlet he had to charge my bike.  I told him that would be cheating because he didn't supply fuel for the gas bikes.  The second moto got rained out because the gas bike rides were afraid their bikes would drown out and I had a cheater bike that could not drown out.  I told him yeah but I might get electrocuted so we were even.  

I think so too! But big props to MY RIDER SKILLZ because I didn't have a manual clutch that is such a great advantage or launch control.  Plus I was penalized heavily by carrying a extra 35lbs of bike weight.  With just those technical disadvantages I could not use I should have been given a 5 second head start.  Just like those riders that use steering stabilizers to cheat in fast, rough terrain!  And those cheating auto clutch riders that pull form idle and get great traction to the ground.  Let's not forget the cheating water cooled bikes or those dang bikes with synchromesh transmissions!

Cheaters all!!!

Come on Pete, how dare you come here and brag about abiding by the rules, hiding in plain sight, you insolent fool! 

Are you using the rear hand or foot brake ?

If you where not cheating you would have to wait for the varg to boot. Dead is Dead Bro.

Brakes?  What brakes?

They should let ICE bikes with Recluse clutches start the same way as the Vargs.

If its not against the rules  its not cheating. right?  I've heard of people setting up their bikes to start in gear without the clutch in so they start moving right away. That's got to be close to getting going as quickly as a Varg.

But then not having to shift is the real advantage. Your never in the wrong gear. And always in the meat of the power. There was a video of an Alta and CRF250 together doing a start, and each time the CRF rider shifted the Alta pulled a bike length. That tiny bit of time that shifting took. 

Here are some results from the latest FIM explorer round. It is a HONDA press release. But there are teams on Vargs.

  Round 2 – Norway

E-Xplorer 2024   Round 2

Team HRC takes the second podium in FIM E-Xplorer

Today, in the stunning land of fjords and rugged mountains of Norway, the eagerly awaited second round of the FIM E-Xplorer World Championship took place. On a day full of thrills and adrenaline, spectators witnessed a spectacle in a ground-breaking race where electric motorbikes are increasingly making their mark in the industry and are probably destined to change the game in the world of motorbike racing.

With an exciting format featuring three male and three female heats, each lasting eight minutes, the riders faced a demanding challenge in a terrain that demands the best from them and their machines. The new CR ELECTRIC PROTO is the eye of all eyes every time it takes to the track because of its aesthetics and the good performance it is showing during these 2 days of the championship.

The day began with a free practice, so that the competitors could get a feel for the bike and make the final adjustments to their bikes. First of all, the female competitors took to the track. Everything was going normally until, during a double jump, Francesca Nocera did not achieve the desired distance and suffered a huge fall. She immediately had to leave the round to receive medical attention. The medical teams acted quickly, carrying out a series of tests in the mobile unit to confirm that, fortunately, she had not suffered any serious injuries. However, as a precautionary measure, she was taken to hospital for further assessment. Despite the shocking mishap, the Italian rider showed unwavering determination and expressed her willingness to return to compete in the three rounds of racing scheduled for the afternoon.

In the men’s category, the qualifying round was dominated by Tosha Schareina and his CR Electric Proto, who took first place from the start. This outstanding performance gave Schareina the advantage to choose his grid position for the main race.

With 3 heats of 8 minutes for each rider, Francesca Nocera was soon after arriving from the hospital to put on her race suit and head to the start line. The Italian rider left everyone speechless for her determination despite having suffered a serious fall a few hours earlier, she was in second position for much of the 1st round until she suffered a mishap in the area of the trunks that made her lose quite a few positions. Then began the men’s race with a not very good start for Tosha, but that did not prevent the Valencian started to climb positions demonstrating a great handling with his CR Electric Proto. He finally finished in 2nd position.

In the second heat Francesca was quite regular during the 8 minutes finishing in 3rd position behind Tanja Schlosser who has shown a great level of form and the Spanish Sandra Gomez. However in the men’s round the same situation as in the first round was repeated, with Even Heibye very consistent and Tosha finishing again in 2nd place.

The last round took its toll on Francesca, who was in pain from the fall and made a great sacrifice to try to finish as well as possible. Tosha Schareina, on the other hand, had a great last round with a spectacular start and was in first place from the beginning to the end of the round.

After a day full of difficulties and obstacles, Team HRC managed to secure second place in the team standings.

Thanks to the exceptional engineering and design work carried out by the brand Honda. Their performance on the track not only stood out for its speed and agility, but also for its reliability, a crucial factor in such a demanding competition.

In addition to the impressive performance of the riders, the organisation of the event deserves special recognition for its impeccable work. From the logistical planning to the management of safety on the track, the organisation ensured that the event ran smoothly, allowing the riders to concentrate solely on giving their best.

The reception of the event in Norway was outstanding, with a huge turnout of motorcycling enthusiasts filling the stands to cheer on their favourite riders. This vibrant atmosphere contributed to an atmosphere of celebration and excitement, further cementing the FIM E-Xplorer World Championship as one of the top sporting events on the international calendar.

With the second round of the championship coming to an end, expectations for the upcoming races in France, Switzerland and India are at an all-time high.

TEAM CLASSIFICATION

BONNEL RACING                      135 points

TEAM HRC                                121 points

GF LOGISTIKK                           116 points

INDE RACING                            112 points

PCR-E PERFORMANCE            107 points

GRAVITY                                     96 points

AUS-E RACING                           84 points

SEVEN RACING                          74 points

Ruben Faria

Team Principal

round 2 finished in oslo, two days with very good weather and a real supercross circuit with a small enduro part. If all the races are like this, it seems to me a good bet from the organisation.

Francesca crashed in qualifying and had to go to the hospital, a pity because she suffered a big impact and went out to win some points. In spite of everything she showed great courage.

Tosha did very well in the enduro section of the race and rode a very solid race. We are still leading the championship but we are still learning because everything is new for us.

We would like to thank the work of the whole team and the sponsors, without them we could not be here.

Tosha Schareina  68

I think the overall was good after a difficult day. We have been improving round by round. The first two rounds I didn't have a good start but I fought until the end.

The great protagonist is Francesca who, after the crash, I don't know how she was able to get back on the bike and the whole team is very grateful to her.

Francesca Nocera  443

It was very difficult for me, I had a big crash in qualifying after a great lap in practice. I tried to do my best in the conditions I could. In the end we managed to get a podium as a team and that's very important. Now it's time for a good recovery and to try to come back as soon as possible.

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Second round in FIM explorer and it's now pretty much a Stark Varg VS HRC series. 2 out of 3 "GT bikes" (Surrons) switched to Vargs after round 1. In Oslo it was 6 Varg teams with 1 Surron team and HRC thrown in the mix, which is precisely why there's no point to an electric class right now. Even the Norwegian wildcard team was racing Vargs.

Interesting to see Dylan Woodcock on a Varg, he knows the bike from competing against it in AX UK. Not sure why but Robbie Madison's team disappeared so no Jorge Zaragoza (he was leading the male standings).

Gotta say, the track looked quite decent this time around. On such tracks mixing SX with a few logs, the Honda prototype seems reasonably competitive with the Varg in 10 min races.

Wildcard Norwegian rider Even Heibye won overall with 2 wins out of 3 races. For the ladies Tanja Schlosser got a clean overall win with 3 wins (after switching teams between Tokyo and Oslo). Team Bonnell Racing (Schlosser and Woodcock) won the event.

Spain is so mad about bikes, where else could you set a night super enduro race in the city center of a town classed UNESCO world heritage ?