I drove down to LeMans the night before, picking up a fellow racer Martin Cooper on the way down to ride the second Zero S that was available. We'd been told that if we got ourselves to the circuit there would be two bikes ready to race in the European eRoadracing championships. And there were...If you call two street commuter bikes with thier number plates removed and Chinese commuting tyres 'ready to race'..:) Martin and I looked at each other, then at the slick-shod prototypes we'd be racing against, shrugged and said, "what's the worst that could happen?"
At this point Martin and I were still in 'motorbike racer mode', neither of us had ridden an electric bike before let alone raced one and were concerned about 'standard race issues', tyres usually being at the top of that list. It wasn't long into the free practice session that I realised I'd need to re-shuffle my priorities...This is still a fledgling series and most of the bikes are based on existing racebike designs with the electric power plants, batteries and controllers grafted in, performance is similar but a much broader spread than you expect in a normal race series. Whilst all running similar motors, some riders prefer to prioritise performance over longevity and others longevity over performance. This means that in the same race you've got standard scratching type racing and some 'tortoise and hare' type racing..it makes for an interesting final lap..
The first thing I noticed and was really surprised about was the performance. The bike I was riding was remarkably similar in size and shape to a Honda CB500 which is probably a benchmark most of us can relate to.. the power was better though..After the initially bizarre experience of having no engine/induction noise and no vibration from the engine, you do notice that there is a much more lucid connection between rider and bike. I was able to feel much more clearly any feedback coming through the bars and seat and as there is no gearbox or clutch I was able to position myself more positively on the bike in left handers..The second thing I noticed was Chinese commuter tyres were never intended to be pushed in a racing situation! I'm no stranger to production racing tyres or even road tyres on track days, but they are usually performance related tyres of some kind...these were... well...not. On the first cold lap I had to pick the bike up twice due to the tyres being cold and covered in rubber marbles (from the Oscherslieben round) and once I got them warm the rubber got too hot and made the long fast corners at Le Mans a less than comfortable experience..
Lets get back to the power...The controller on this bike was the standard street version designed to allow a certain level of performance safeguarding the heat build up in the motor and how fast the power is sucked out of the batteries...Now that makes it sound like it was limiting but it really wasn't that bad..The amount of available torque was impressive and throttle control much more controllable than any well carburated bike I've ever ridden...When exiting the corners and opening the standard type twist-grip throttle the bike would leap forward with a really strong urgency, but really fine control, right up to it's (limited) top speed of 153km/h, quicker than I was expecting it to (and quicker than some of the production racers I've ridden). As the laps click-on the motor gets hotter and as the motor gets hotter the controller limits the performance so the top speed starts to reduce as the amount of time the motor is being used at full capacity goes on....There are uprated controllers available for these bikes and with a minor change in wheel sizes they could wear slicks..some race teams have also fashioned air ducts to cool the motors to help lengthen the amount of time peak performance is available and some have even got water cooled motors..With a little more time and not a insignificant amount of money these little commercially available street commuters would be race ready and able to battle at the front with the (mostly) developed racing prototypes that are currently dominating the series from Zongchen, Mavizen and Agni. In fact some teams in the states that own their own Zero S bikes have done just that in a well supported environment for e racing bikes.
Having ridden effectively during the practice and qualifying I found myself qualified for the race. Unfortunately my traveling buddy Martin crashed early in the free practice session, succumbing to the poor quality tyres and broke both his hands quite badly. The second Agni which was probably my only other chance for a good scrap in the race also went down in qualifying and the German rider injured, braking his collar bone and ribs..This meant I was at the back of the grid on my own for the race.
The initial performance of the little Zero before it's limitations kicked in was frankly awesome..heading off the line I shot through the pack to the front only to be immediately swamped by the prototypes as we headed into the first turn...'swamped' might not be that accurate, 'swamped' indicates I was 'in and around' the other bikes, that was not the case..:) As the last race of the season the other campaigners had turned up the performance on thier bikes, got thier slick tyres warm and headed off into the distance at a serious lick! I was left circulating on my own enjoying my first experience of racing an eRoadRacing bike and wondering when I'll get the chance to do it again. As it turns out the French Journalist and 1991 World Endurance Champion who was riding the Mavizen prototype was having a few performance issues and pitted but finished the race putting me 4th out of 5 finishers (6 starters). One of the Chinese riders on one of the three Zongchen prototypes crashed, trying to stay ahead of me of course! ;)
Qualifying for the race itself means that I automatically qualify for the World cup final in Qatar in November. The Americans will be there and if my UK sponsor Darvill racing can raise the money I will be there too. I've no idea if there's a bike for me to ride yet, but if there is I will be making concerted efforts to get there!
Thanks as ever to my Sponsors; I2V for tremendous support, Shark helmets for my amazing Carbon pro, Held for superb leathers and gloves and TCX for the best boots!
Keith McKay (Aardvark racing) Alex Aitchisson (Team Principal Darvill racing) For moving mountains for me
Mike Edwards for thinking of me for the ride in the first place.
And a very special mention to the team at eRoadracing for organising a great series with no small resistance from the 'old guard'...:)
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