TTXGP practice at the Infineon Raceway in Sonoma (w/Video)

It was a poignant day for TTXGP as the North American TTXGP 2010 championship teams set up in the paddock for the first day of the 2010 season.

Practice days for electric bikes are always an interesting experience as teams battle to iron out the last minute unexpected kinks, test and recalibrate the bikes. Today was no exception, as the Technical Inspection crew made their rounds...

All seemed to be well in the Zero Agni corner with Shawn Higbee making it look effortless... The 2009 TTXGP PRO championship bike from Agni Motors (No.22) was more than holding its own against the remaining field, a few charging issues were quickly resolved with Agni CEO Arvind Rabadia arriving on the scene. Bike 14, K Squared Racing, Zero's privateer effort by Zero owner and employee Kenyon Kluge also was performing well.

Talking to the racers it seems like everyone feels the same thing... Lightning's Michael Barnes "I was attracted to this race because I am intrigued by the new technology, It's at the beginning but it will develop fast and the fact that the TTXGP is part of an international championship is great. I am really hoping to get to the TTXGP Final in Albacete, it is a big part of the attraction" Michael Hannas, racing for Electric Race Bike agreed adding "I have ridden everything and really wanted to see what it would be like to ride what could become the future, the technology driving these bikes is really intriguing and that is what makes this race exciting"

The Square Wave Racing team (No. 16) summed up the TTXGP spirit, driving across country from Columbus, Ohio. After being inspired by last year's TTXGP showcase at the AMA vintage days event on their home track, the team principal, lead mechanic and rider for Square Wave Racing John Wild and his friend Sean Ewing spend 13 weeks building his racing bike, from a 1996 Honda CBR F, rising to the challenge of being at the forefront of clean emission technology. Working with sponsors; The Ohio State University Centre for Automotive Research, Rice Paddy Motorcycles, Iron Pony, and Zoot Scoots the team arrived in the paddock and set immediately to work testing the bike. Commenting on the speed of his development project John said "This weekend is the first time we have had the bike on track and we are primarily using this season to learn about electric drive trains and next year we'll move on to chassis development."

TTXGP is a great opportunity for privateers and manufacturers alike to race and prove their products and expertise.

Day 2 Qualifying

Final Grid Positions set. It's game time...

All the build-up, all the excitement and it all finally comes down to this.
The start line of the TTXGP North American Championship 2010, looks like this (with qualifying lap times)


01 22 Shawn Higbee (Zero/Agni) 1:56.868
02 80 Michael Barnes (Lightening Motors) 1:59.411
03 37 Thad Wolff (Team Electra) 2:09.273
04 15 Mike Hannas (Electric race Bike) 2:10.452
05 14 Kenyon Kluge (KSquanred Racing) 2:13.252
06 19 Spencer Smith (Volt Motors) 2:20.772
07 20 James Pooler (Electric Motor Sports) 2:22.728
08 23 Jennifer Bromme (Werkstarr Racing) 2:24.469
09 16 John Wild (Square Wave) 2:46.332
10 18 Zoe Rem (Pril Motors) 2:49.553

Tomorrow, these teams make history with the first zero carbon championship in American history and define the next generation of motorsports.