Forum:FIM e-Power

I didn't see any mention of FIM e-Power so I have to wonder: was this was intentional or not? Is TTXGP seen as a better event to participate in? One reason I could see is that FIM e-Power may be less open and community-driven than TTXGP. Or is it simply that two race series would be too much initially so one had to be chosen?

It seems to me that at least meeting both the TTXGP and FIM e-Power rules might be easy enough to be worthwhile in case Open Moto X does at some point participate in FIM e-Power. -- TauCycle 16:05, July 15, 2010


 * Hi TauCycle,


 * Welcome to Open Moto X. Great to have someone interested in what we are doing. Sorry about the delay in getting back to you. You are right it would be worthwhile to make sure that OMX bikes can compete in both race series but I think there are more concrete reasons for focusing on TTXGP than it being more "community-driven".


 * Just to be clear: Open Moto X is open. People are free to race the bikes where ever they want. Mention of FIM e-Power hasn't purposely been excluded from the OMX wiki and I don't have anything "against" FIM. However, when I set up OMX there were several reasons that I decided it was best to focus on winning TTXGP races:


 * 1) the rules for TTXGP (at least the ones being introduced in 2011) seem to safer and better thought out than those of FIM. Also, teams are encouraged to participate in drafting the TTXGP rules. This makes a better fit between the philosophy of OMX and TTXGP. Maybe this is what you mean by "community-driven"?


 * 2) TTXGP has plans for many more races in more parts of the world than offered by FIM. OMX has global ambitions and wants people from all over the world (not just Europe and the USA) to be able to build competitive motorcycles and race in national and international competitions.


 * 3) the community of pro-am TTXGP teams seems bigger and more vibrant than the teams competing in the e-Power races. The kind of teams competing in TTXGP seem more likely to be interested in participating in Open Moto X development.


 * 4) FIM does not have a culture that encourages innovation. In fact it has blocked technical innovation in the past. This is probably fine for a well established technology like motorcycles powered by internal combustion engines (ICE) where the focus is more on riders rather than machines, but it would be bad to stymie an evolving technology like electric powered motorcycles.


 * 5) FIM is a bureaucracy dominated by the money that the manufacturers of ICE bikes, big sponsors (some of which are oil companies) and professional race teams bring to the organisation. TTXGP is totally focused on electric races and is keen to encourage smaller amateur and pro-am teams. I can't imagine any real conflicts of interest between the TTXGP teams and the race organisers.


 * 6) Sponsors want media coverage - TTXGP seems to be working harder and achieving better results not just on the web, but also on TV and "old media" coverage of their races.


 * 7) I don't know all the details of the story but from what I understand FIM didn't seem to act very honourably in 2009 when they first supported Azhar Hussain when he set up TTXGP, then - for no good reason that I can discover - they decided to set up their own rival series. This was bad for the sport, bad for sponsors and disrespectful to Azhar Hussain and all the teams that had worked so hard to prove that electric motorcycle racing had finally come of age at the first TTXGP race on the Isle of Man in 2009.


 * For these reasons focusing on FIM e-Power races seems like a bigger risk for OMX than focusing on TTXGP. FIM could easily turn against an small innovative organisation like OMX, invent a new rule or two, ban OMX bikes from FIM races, disrupt our community and make it more difficult for us to work with sponsors. It seems to me that TTXGP is much less of a risk and have been much more interested in helping OMX get started.


 * Of course I am keen to see OMX bikes race (and win) all sorts of races - but I think it is best have to have some focus (at least for the first year) and so it seems like TTXGP is the best choice. If OMX bikes can be adapted to race in the FIM e-Power series then that would be even better. But I think it makes sense to start with trying to win TTXGP races - at least for the 2011 season.


 * However, I don't know all the answers. I might be wrong about some, or all, of these things. Let me know what you think. maybe we should start a page to compare the technical rules of the two series so that teams know how to adapt their bikes for e-Power races.


 * all the best, --Payo 14:57, July 26, 2010 (UTC)

A lot of good points there; thanks Payo.

I thought the FIM rules were based on the TTXGP rules which were in turn a bit more loosely based on the FIM rules for ICE racing...but whether or not this is the case there do seem to have been quite a few changes for the better to the TTXGP rules that came from the teams and community (including Craig Vetter, famous for fuel efficiency streamlining and feet-foward designs); if Open Moto X or anyone else has input on the TTXGP, there's the rules wiki--that is, as you said, what I meant by "community-driven".

Having read your opinion on the matter I think the best strategy would be to focus on TTXGP (at least primarily, and at least for now), and as you said perhaps create page comparing the rules of TTXGP to other races the OMX might compete in, and perhaps as the design gets realized where the OMX meets those rules and where it would have to be changed to compete in that race series.

--TauCycle 01:24, August 9, 2010 (UTC)