New U.S. Electric Roadrace Series Set To Debut In 2014

Troy Siahaan
by Troy Siahaan

We should have seen the writing on the wall earlier. The eRoadRacing series cut its ties to its Australian arm before the start of the end of the 2012 season, and there are strong rumors it will be announcing plans to focus its efforts solely in Europe for 2014 and beyond. That rumor is strengthened by Arthur Kowitz, an eRoadRacing competitor in 2013 who has created a new playground for American e-bike racers — the U.S. eMotoRacing Series.

Held in conjunction with the American Historic Racing Motorcycle Association (AHRMA), races will be held at many of the nation’s finest racetracks like Barber Motorsports Park, Daytona International Speedway, Grattan Raceway, Miller Motorsports Park, New Jersey Motorsports Park, NOLA Motorsports Park, Road America, Roebling Road Raceway, Sonoma Raceway, and Willow Springs International Raceway.

Much like traditional gas-powered racing, the series will be split into two classes, the eGrandPrix class for 100% prototype machines from companies like Motoczysz, Lightning and Brammo, and the eSuperSport class, aimed at production-based racers and race-prepped, electric-powered street bikes. Currently, the two most popular entries for this class are projected to be the Zero SR and Brammo Empulse TTX. Both classes give participants the opportunity to showcase and develop new technologies, while enjoying relatively affordable racing.

According to Kowitz, licensing requirements will mirror those required by AHRMA, and racers will have significantly more track time than previously allotted with eRR. “A typical weekend will start on Friday with four practice sessions, then Saturday will have a practice session and a race, and Sunday with have another practice session and another race.” Kowitz continues, “there might be a few events that are compressed into two days. And there might be some events that don’t get four sessions on Friday, it really depends on entries in the classes. Races should be about six laps. In total, that is substantially more track time than we got in 2013.”

Much of the rulebook is still being finalized, but the series could potentially allow much more freedom for e-bike pioneers to showcase their talents. “I’m pushing for allowing different technologies such as KERS and such, which were banned in TTXGP and eRoadracing,” says Jeremiah Johnson, fellow e-bike racer and advisor to Kowitz. “During the TTXGP and eRoadracing days, I heard people saying they didn’t want to race because these things were banned. So I want to take away the excuses and also give them a venue to test their theories.”

Again, depending on the number of entries, it’s entirely possible for gas bikes and electrics to be on track at the same time. Says Kowitz,”if this happens, the gas and electrics will be scored separately.”

Keep it here for the latest developments from the U.S. eMotoRacing Series. For now, here is the provisional 2014 AHRMA roadracing schedule:

2/28-3/2 Roebling Road Raceway, Bloomingdale, GA
3/28-30 NOLA Motorsports Park, Avondale, LA
4/25-27 Willow Springs International Raceway, Rosamond, CA
5/1-2 Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, CA
6/6-8 Road America, Elkhart Lake, WI
6/13-15 Grattan Raceway, Belding, MI
7/11-13 New Jersey Motorsports Park, Millville, NJ
8/29-31 Miller Motorsports Park, Tooele, UT
10/9-12 Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, AL
10/17-19 Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL

Troy Siahaan
Troy Siahaan

Troy's been riding motorcycles and writing about them since 2006, getting his start at Rider Magazine. From there, he moved to Sport Rider Magazine before finally landing at Motorcycle.com in 2011. A lifelong gearhead who didn't fully immerse himself in motorcycles until his teenage years, Troy's interests have always been in technology, performance, and going fast. Naturally, racing was the perfect avenue to combine all three. Troy has been racing nearly as long as he's been riding and has competed at the AMA national level. He's also won multiple club races throughout the country, culminating in a Utah Sport Bike Association championship in 2011. He has been invited as a guest instructor for the Yamaha Champions Riding School, and when he's not out riding, he's either wrenching on bikes or watching MotoGP.

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