| The official TTXGP Press Release:
Atlas reaches for the clouds
22nd October 2012
TTXGP Press Office
Steve Atlas made history today by becoming the first person to win a TTXGP round at Daytona as well as the first American to take home the TTXGP World Series Final title. By becoming the TTXGP World Series Champion, Steve, along with team mate Eric Bostrom, gave Team Icon Brammo the TTXGP World Series Final Constructors trophy.
Despite starting behind team mate Eric Bostrom, Steve O had a strong start taking the lead from turn one and managing to retain it throughout the race. “It felt good and it is cool to be world series champion, as well as the first to win an electric race here at Daytona. I feel that my name is now up there with Miguel Duhamel or Scott Russell! The race was very uneventful. I jumped Eric at the start and didn’t look back until the 2nd or 3rd lap. I was then nervous as Eric was not on my shoulder and the race was obviously mine to lose. I hadn’t realised that there was no one behind me as I was focussed on the track ahead.
The Brammo team have worked hard to get us here this weekend, so this victory is very well deserved for the whole team. There were no gremlins at all in the race, the bike performed perfectly for the first time this weekend, just at the right time – perfect”
He scored the fastest lap time of the weekend, as well with a 1.58.010.
The day’s biggest disappointment was from Eric Bostrom, who started in pole position after a strong performance all weekend. Despite a few glitches resulting in a reset or two during the weekend, both Brammo bikes were impressive, producing a speed of 170mph+ during practice, which made most people sit up and take notice. His bike suffered from some technical difficulties early on in the race and his speed dropped significantly: "The weekend has been part of a learning process for me and the team. The team have made lots of progress in a very short space of time, so problems are to be expected. It has been an important day for the team and it's good that the team had two bikes out there.
The power failure was a different sort of failure to the problems we have had during the weekend. The bike just lost power for a lap or so and then the power came back. It was the strangest thing, in the later laps everything felt very good and the bike was up to speed again.
This weekend the bike has been the fastest it has ever been, but we have had teething problems. You can’t win them all! It has been a big achievement for all the electric bikes to get round this circuit, it is the most demanding circuit there is. "
Although faced by a major issue, Eric managed to get the bike back to peak performance, winning the third place trophy.
Second place in today's season climax went to 2010/2011 TTXGP World Final Champion; Matthias Himmelman. The Pilot from Lohfelden, Germany, had been relaxed all weekend. “I enjoyed the race, but I was asleep at the start. I was the last bike to leave the grid. I was looking for the red lights at the start line, as we have had throughout the tracks in Europe, but I couldn’t see them. The next thing I knew all the other bikes had left the grid and the race had started without me.
After the infield section, I saw that the two Brammos were racing each other at full speed and I was looking to secure 3rd place. I was looking after the bike, taking it gently. I then saw Eric slow down and said thank
you for the present as I passed him. I thought that Eric’s race was over so I continued to take it gently on the banking for the next two laps before going faster towards the end. I didn’t know that Eric had got going again or that he was catching me. Finishing 2nd in the World Series Championship is good. Second place shows potential to win the following year.
Racing at Daytona is a great feeling. Before I came here, I did not think it was a driver’s circuit, but it is. You have to know the banking and how to come off it at the right point. On an electric bike you have restricted practice so you have to learn the track in only 4 or 5 laps. It has been a special thing in my life to come here to Daytona and race here with an electric bike.”
The real battle was for 4th place and it happened between Australian Jason Morris for Catavolt and local lad Jeremiah Johnson. "Victor" Jeremiah said “Any bike racing is always fun. I started out building electric bikes as I was bored and wanted to do something different. I found some others were doing the same sort of thing and got involved with a small group of guys who were building electric bikes a long time before TTXGP started.
As a racer I have always enjoyed Daytona. It has been great to be involved in representing electric bikes at Daytona due to the prestige that this course holds. It was great fun to race head to head with Catavolt. We were trading places until they had a fault and I got ahead.”
Bringing up the rear but after disaster stuck on Saturday afternoon; simply happy to take part in the race is Australian Jason Morris for Catavolt. In yesterdays practice they suffered a major technical fault, with the rear hub motor, which resulted in total motor failure. The team worked really hard over night and managed to rescue their race but the bike was down to only one motor.
Jason put in a heroic effort on the track and although started strong racing against Jeremiah Johnson, the single motor was under pressure “unfortunately after a great lap one, turning into turn two, the bike just overheated and cut the power out for about 10 seconds, then it cools down momentarily and let you back on the throttle but then cuts out again. The bike limped throughout lap two and also completed lap three, although I pulled into the pits as the race had ended so I didn’t register the time.” A silver lining for the team is that they won the TTX75 award and recognition from the IET technical panel for technical creativity ; The IET Panel picked two teams from across the globe for addional recognition. Professor Pat Wheeler on presenting the prizes said “The IET is proud to be a partner of the TTXGP World Race Series. This visionary sporting event brings together the passion for motorbike racing with the application of zero carbon technologies. Since its inception in 2009, the IET through its members and volunteers have been hands-on supporters and see TTXGP as a way to disseminate and share knowledge and expertise in science, engineering and technology to a global audience.
Catavolt were the team who had pushed the boundaries most and are a deserving recipient of the IET Automotive & Road Transport Network Award for Technical Creativity. We would also like to congratulate Team Icon Brammo on a great season, their hard work, developments and constant professionalism has inspired many and I am really pleased to present them with the IET Transport Sector Award for Technical Excellence”
Daytona International Speedway was an incredible circuit to push these technologies to the limit and the reception from bikers and motorsport fans has been overwhelmingly positive all weekend long. TTXGP would like to thank the staff of AHRMA, CCS, as well as the Circuit as well as the army of volunteers that makes this all possible.
TTXGP WORLD SERIES FINAL 2012
Daytona International Speedway
All said and done.. its a wrap on 2012. Looking towards a new and improved 2013.
Big thanks to all the teams, tracks and fans for making us what we are.
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