Green eXtreme Racing

When the words “motorcycle racing” are heard, the image of a sleek, powerful and fuel-hungry superbike comes to mind. The kind that Valentino Rossi likes to ride in the Moto GP, or a hopped up street bike popping a wheelie down a vacant street whilst competing with another. While these images of motorcycle racing may hold true, the sport is slowly beginning to change. Nowhere has this change been felt more then on the track. For once, the race tracks are quiet.

Quiet in a good way, and soon that near-silence will be coming to the United States. A motorcycle race will take place in Infineon Raceway in Sonoma County, and the sounds of the motorcycles will hardly be heard. The first ever no-carbon emission motorcycle race on the continent, and the second ever such race in the world is to take place on May 14-16 of 2010, during the AMA Motorcycle Sonoma Showdown.

TTXGP (Time Trial Extreme Grand Prix) is an entirely new variety of motorcycle racing, with the first of such races having occurred at the Isle of Man TT in 2009. Teams from all over the globe came to race their bikes, based on a specific set of rules and guidelines. All the bikes were to be zero-emissions, and they would rely on electricity for propulsion. In 2010 that racing event is coming to the United States, and will be sure to have motorcycle fans buzzing. It will be that buzz that should take place of the noise that the motorcycles make, since they are incredibly quiet machines due to their reliance on electricity stored in batteries that find a home on the motorcycle. The top speed of these bikes is near to 130 mph, though they cannot yet hold an electrical charge that would allow them to keep that speed for long. Going at top speed, the TTXGP bikes can expend near to 70 kilowatts per hour. This means that despite their innovative technologies, they will be racing for 30 minutes during the day. During those short races however, fans will be able to catch a glimpse into the future of motorcycle racing.