Himmelmann Dominates FIM e-Power & TTXGP Combined Event
Fri, 23 Sep 2011
Germany’s Matthias Himmelmann dominated the FIM e-Power & TTXGP combined event held Sept. 23 at the Le Mans circuit, in opening of the renowned FIM 24 Hours Endurance race.
Not to discount Himmelmann’s win, but the most remarkable thing about the race is how much faster the electric-powered motorcycles lapped the Bugatti circuit this year. Himmelmann completed his fastest lap in 1’54.584 and set a time of 1’52.939 as pole position. In 2010, the fastest lap around the circuit was completed in 2’19 – an incredible 26-second improvement!
After eight laps of racing, Himmelmann’s Münch TTE bike crossed the finish line more than 34 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.
“This was a start to finish with a victory for the team,” says Himmelmann. “I gave it all my power as well as the power of the bike to push for the win and the result for the whole team is excellent. This is a real team effort; the win belongs to all of us. We have worked really hard to further develop this new bike after a disappointing result at Laguna Seca.”
Italian Alessandro Brannetti (CRP Racing Team) finished second behind Himmellmann, while Ho Chi Fung, the fastest rider from the Chinese team Zongshen, finished in third. In fourth position was Italian rider Alex Batistini (CRP Racing Team) who finished ahead of the American female rider Shelina Moreda (CRP Racing Team) and Yang Tu, the other Zongshen rider.
“We are very happy, this is a great result for our team who worked really hard to give me a competitive machine for its class,” says Brannetti. “Of course we know the Münch Motors are in a different league in terms of power and it would be a challenge to beat them so for us second place at this race is an excellent result. Our goal now is to work on the power train to gain more power in order to complete our next project, the road motorcycle, which will be launched as a concept vehicle in EICMA in Milan this year.”
Related Reading
Electric Motorcycle Racing Season Wrap-Up
2011 TTXGP / e-Power Laguna Seca Results
2011 Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix Event Report [Video]
By Lucas Cooney
See also: Suzuka Eight Hour capers, Capirossi Announces Retirement at Conclusion of 2011 Season, MSF Begins Year-long Real World Motorcycle Safety Study.