Electric Racing News - eRoadRacing 2013 Am Round 1

Eric Bostrom won the first FIM eRoadRacing round of the US series in Laguna Seca following a shock exit by record-breaking Shane Turpin today.

Despite not finishing the race, Turpin set a new race record lap time of 1’32.581, beating Steve Rapp’s previous 1’33.194.

Bostrom took first place during the final lap in a closely-contested race after Turpin suffered bike failure. The victory now means Bostrom leads the US series.

Kenyon Kluge came second on his Zero motorcycle followed by Jeremiah Johnson in third after Shelina Moreda and Ted Rich crashed out at the Corkscrew during the first lap. That meant Arthur Kowitz was able to finish fourth on his Brammo bike following a fine race from the individual.

‘My heart sank when I saw Shane had a problem,’ said Bostrom. ‘It’s a strange feeling because you obviously want the team to do well but you still want to win too. It is a real shame to win that way but I am still happy to have won.

‘You can see from the lap times that we are going in the right direction and the technology around these bikes is continuing to develop. We were producing speeds of 140mph on the track, which is just fantastic.’

Second-place Kluge was unaware of Moreda’s exit and admitted to thinking the Brammo rider was hot on his tails during the race. Moreda and Rich’s crash meant Kluge sat comfortably in third until Turpin was forced to retire.

‘Our goal for today was to go and do what we did in qualifying yesterday and be consistent,’ said Kluge. ‘We set up the power so we would have almost identical lap times at the end of the race as we did at the beginning.

‘I knew that a couple of people had fallen but I wasn’t sure if Shelina had fallen or not. She was one of the people I figured I would be racing with. I expected her to be there so I just raced like I had somebody chasing me and it worked.’

Third-place Johnson was certain he had finished fourth and started heading back to the paddock. He was obviously ecstatic with a spot on the podium and is already looking forward to the next round at Indianapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday 18 August

‘We just managed the race. I didn’t ride the bike as fast as I could have because it was about making it last until the end,’ said Johnson.

‘I was hoping to come fourth and actually at the end of the race I thought I was fourth but they told me to turn around and go to the podium, so it was a big surprise for me!

‘I am looking forward to Indianapolis now. It is a fun track and being able to say you are one of the few Americans that have raced a motorbike at Indianapolis is huge.’

Shane Turpin will start tomorrow’s race in pole position after producing a 1,32.516 lap time during today’s qualifying, just 0.571 seconds ahead of second-place Eric Bostrom.

That means both prototype Brammos will lead tomorrow’s grid, as expected, ahead of Kenyon Kluge (pictured), whose 1’48.068 time secured him third place on the grid.

Bostrom’s top speed during qualifying was an incredible 140.9mph (226.8kmh) and Turpin was only 1.4 seconds slower than the circuit record of 1’31.376, which was set in the afternoon heat back in 2011. The temperature during today’s qualifying was a lot lower than when the circuit record was set.

Ted Rich will start the race from fourth on the grid following his 1’49.061 time while Shelina Moreda’s 1’51.019 places her in fifth, just in front of Jeremiah Johnson. Arthur Kowitz and Brandon Miller will start from seventh and eight respectively.

The results from qualifying are as follows:

1. TURPIN, Shane (1’32.516)

2. BOSTROM, Eric (1’33.087)

3. KLUGE, Kenyon (1’48.068)

4. RICH, Ted (1’49.061)

5. MOREDA, Shelina (1’51.019)

6. JOHNSON, Jeremiah (1’52.046)

7. KOWITZ, Arthur (1’54.417)

8. MILLER, Brandon (1’55.625)

Picture courtesy of Phil Hawkins.

Friday’s practice session set the stage for an exciting race as only 0.015 seconds separated Team Icon Brammo’s Shane Turpin and Eric Bostrom at the top.

Those times should mean a phenomenal race on Sunday as the two Brammo team mates battle to be crowned champion of Laguna in 2013. Both riders also reached speeds of over 130mph.

Meanwhile, Team Parker Brammo’s Shelina Moreda competed with SBK Racing’s Ted Rich for the fourth fastest lap. Moreda was only 0.04 seconds behind Rich.

Again, those times point towards another closely-contested race for third place when the riders compete this Sunday.

All eight bikes finished the practice session without incidents, as Kenyon Kluge, Jeremiah Johnson, Arthur Kowitz and Brandon Miller all pulled in the next fastest lap times respectively.

There is now plenty of opportunity for the teams to tinker with their bikes’ set-ups before tomorrow’s qualifying session, which takes place at 5pm local time.