New World, New Racing? A new FIM World Championship kicks off this year – E-Xplorer

New technology requires new thinking, and electric motorcycles are the perfect example, especially when it comes to sport. In terms of speed, handling and braking, there’s no reason why they can’t equal or better the standards of petrol-driven bikes, but they are not (yet) candidates for endurance events or even a standard Superbike round. Current events (and their rules) are based around 120 years’ experience of what petrol bikes can do.

Hence the argument that electric bikes will need new forms of motorcycle sport designed specifically for them. This is what E-Xplorer is all about. An FIM international race series kicks off this year; it’s specifically designed for battery-powered bikes and shows some original thinking, with a mix of urban/countryside rounds, plus 50% male/female teams.

In some ways, Valentin Guyonnet is the perfect CEO to see this through. Growing up in France, he rode trials and enduros, while more recently he’s worked for the FIA on its Formula E series (a bit like Formula 1 but with shorter events, not to mention more overtaking). “The hardest thing around motorcycle sport is noise pollution,” he says. “We have all grown up with two-strokes and love them – I still have a TY Yamaha, but of all the bikes in my garage, it’s the electric one which I jump on most often, because it is so easy to ride.” The idea of an electric off-road race series came when he was in Marrakesh, met a rider with an Electric Motion and had a go on the bike. “I was shocked at how good it was. I had tested electric off-road bikes but until then, they hadn’t been so good. So in early 2021 I suggested to the FIM that we do an e-motorcycle championship and they agreed – they hadn’t got electric racing off the ground yet, but wanted to.”

Circuits & Bikes

Not that E-Xplorer will simply be a shorter version of existing trials or motocross. For a start, there are urban as well as more conventional courses. “When we first went to the cities and asked to run a motorcycle event, the answer was ‘No Way.’ But when we said it was electric bikes, and with mixed male/female teams, they were far more welcoming.” Barcelona will see the first round, with a course making the most of local features. “I can see bikes riding up and down steps, onto roofs of buildings,” says Valentin Guyonnet. “The goal is not to be ultra-aggressive, but it still needs to look impressive.” In an urban setting it sounds a bit like parkour, the urban sport which sees runners leaping from roof to roof. Could be interesting...

Wherever they are, the courses in this first year will be short, maybe 3-500 metres, with an eye on attracting spectators and easy TV coverage as well as battery range. Features will be similar to super-enduro or supercross, with plenty of jumps and obstacles, so it’s clear that the emphasis will be on agility rather than sheer speed. “The bikes competing will be very different, so we wanted to be sure that max power isn’t the key thing. Some bikes have 11Kw, some have 35Kw, but in testing we found that the 35Kw was no faster, which is what we want. Building the course has been our biggest challenge.”

“The landscape of sport has changed a lot,” he adds, “so we have tried to find a format which appeals to the next generation. Motorcycle manufacturers are not here to transform their current loyal customers from petrol to electric, but to attract a younger generation which at the moment does not want to ride motorcycles at all. So we think ‘shorter is better’ following the example of what Red Bull has done with supercross. Eventually, electrics will be able to run a full-length race, but not yet.”

Moto-E of course, the electric partner to Moto GP, is now into its fifth season, but using a single supplier (Ducati) of race bikes. E-Xplorer takes a very different path, offering an open class with very few restrictions, so that as many different bikes as possible can take part, the aim being to speed up innovation and see what works best. So far the top ten manufacturers (including the Japanese big four, Livewire, Royal Enfield and others) have all said yes to taking part, but that they’re not ready yet. So for the first season, the specialist start-ups, who already offer electric off-road bikes and make nothing else, have a clear run. Electric Motion, Cake, EMX and Surron will all be in the mix. “We wanted to give all these specialists a good championship,” says Valentin, “so we’ve got a clear road map for the next few years, with a 10year agreement and the major manufacturers coming on board when they are ready. Also we have a mix of private and factory teams, as in Formula E.”

The Riders

As for the riders, most will be from an enduro, trials or MX background, though a few MotoGP people will also take part, which could be interesting. Again, as with Formula E there will be two distinct groups – younger up and coming riders who see this as part of their career path, and older more established stars who want to try something different. Whatever their age, half of the riders will be women, with twelve teams consisting of one man and one woman each, something which was part of the plan from the start. “There aren’t many motorsports where women and men compete together like this,” says Valentin, “and it was always a priority. For us, this is more important than the use of electric bikes.”

“There is a lot of work to do, he adds, “but this is the way to go. My feeling is that the whole electric thing will enable lighter, smaller off-road motorcycles, maybe just 85 kilos, with lower speeds and less elaborate kit, open face helmets, good for women as well as men – I think this could change the whole perception of motorcycling.” www.fimexplorer.com

Carbon Footprints

Hang on, if E-Xplorer is flying the flags for electric bikes (and the low emissions that go with them), how does that square with a global race series which involves shipping bikes and personnel all over the planet?

“There are many aspects to the footprint of an event,” says Valentin Guyonnet, “especially logistics. The teams will not have their own trucks, but all the logistics will be managed together and there will be a limit on the number of personnel in each team. We have worked enough time into the season, so that bikes will be transferred from Europe to USA by boat, and again from USA to Asia. So we cannot be zero emission, but we are trying to minimise the carbon footprint. We are trying to keep doing our sport in a way which makes more sense in the 21st century.”

E-Xplorer 2023 Calendar

13th May – Barcelona, Spain

24th June – Crans Montana, Switzerland

29th July – Vollore Montagne, France

16th September – TBA, USA

28th October – Busan, South Korea

18th November – Asia