Himmelmann tops the practice

The Münch Racing Team brought three motorcycles has come to Oschersleben, the « historic » Münch TTE, the machine that carried Matthias Himmelmann to victory in the 2011 FIM e-Power International Championship, and the brand’s new model that had its maiden run at the last round in Laguna Seca (United States). Riding the 2011 Münch, Katja Poensgen is in second place on the timesheets. The German rider, formerly engaged in GP250, currently heads the 2012 leader board. On the grid at Oschersleben, she will be ahead of the Zongshen ridden by China’s Chi-Fung Ho and the third Münch TTE with Thomas Schuricht aboard. There are ten electric motorcycles entered in this fourth round at Oschersleben. Katja Poensgen is not the only track star to have been tempted by the lure of e-Power. Sweden’s Peter Linden, FIM Endurance World Champion in 2000 with Phase One, will also be on the grid and is clearly enjoying himself on board one of the Zongshens in contention. The final of the FIM e-Power International and TTXGP Championships will be the curtain-raiser for the 24 Hours of Le Mans on 8 September. With every new event, the teams demonstrate new technical developments. This season, the most significant is the use of electric motors driven by alternating current (an electronic controller converts the direct current output from the batteries). The Münch TTEs which currently top the electric field are powered by this type of motor. Quotes… Mathias Himmelmann (49 – Münch Racing) It really is a strong German field this weekend with current Epower and TTXGP leader adding to their number… “ I was 4 seconds faster in the second qualification time than the first so am happier with the performance of the bike, but there was such little time between the last round at Assen and this that we didn’t have much time to work on the bike. I am really excited about the sprint tomorrow especially that it is happening at a joint FIM Epower and TTXGP round at Oschersleben... It is a good opportunity to show maximum speed without considerations for tactics or team strategy. Now it’s up to me to get faster and reward the hard work my team had done in building me this great bike. I need to get a better feel for the bike, and this will only come with more track time. I want to thank my sponsors Windreicht for providing a specially commissioned Wind turbine in the paddock, and proving eRacing can really be zero carbon. They have gone to great lengths to prove wind is the energy for the mobility of tomorrow.” It certainly helps demonstrate the potential of electric racing to provide an alternative to burning fuel, and follows hot on the heels of the Barracuda Lightnings team solar powered machine.   Katja Poensgen (65 - Münch Racing) Team mate of Matthias and the only women racing this weekend seemed far more at ease. “It was good to be out here in Oschersleben, I really enjoyed being at this track because I have ridden here many times before and although not been here for a while, I still know it well as it has not changed for many years. This is a lot more fun than Laguna Seca as there, I had to focus on learning a very technical track, here I can totally concentrate on my riding style rather than looking always at what is coming next. I am totally looking forward to tomorrows sprint race. It is new and exciting so I don’t know how it will go for the team but I will give everything I have in just three laps. I know my biggest challenge will be controlling my urge to just go for it when the light changes to green but I know I need to not crash the bike and be sensible.” Thomas Schuricht (6 - Münch Racing) team engineer and now racer, on bike no. 6 had a few problems this afternoon… “I am really not happy about the performance today as I have a water cooling issue with my bike so the qualifying was not as good as it should have been which is frustrating. The team must work hard to fix this problem in time for tomorrow sprint. I am confident we will but right now, I need to get back to the day job of engineer.” Tang Yu (26 - for Zongshen Racing) was the only one of the three racers that managed to make it to the track for both qualification sessions. “I really like the track at Oschersleben, It has far more corners than some of the other circuits and I think my bike is better suited to this sort of track and you need more rider skill than just sheer power which is good for me as my bike handles so well. Yesterday was my first day here so I am still learning the track today I had better times than yesterday and I am sure tomorrow will be better than today. We have exactly the same set up as we had in Assen TT Circuit as it worked so well for me, it was my personal best result to date. I am feeling pretty confident going into the race, I really hope to be on the podium again.” Christian Amendt (36-epoBike for epoRacing Team) was fortunate enough to be able to go out for both qualifications sessions: “ My bike is performing well and for me, very good for my budget and development time. I love this racetrack because of the number of corners as well as the fast straights. I am unhappy that I didn’t improve on my qualification time in the second session but I will examine the data and find out why this happened. I did two sessions of ten laps each today so I am really happy about that.” Udo Reichmann (72 - Mavizen for Reichmann Racing Team) sat on an electric bike for the first time in todays second qualifying session. “I think racing with electric feels very different to a gas bike. Right now, it feels like I can’t control it exactly like I want to. When you close the throttle, the bike immediately stops but when you go full on the gas it take a little while before the power kicks in.... I fell like I need to play with it a little more before really understanding what it is capable of. I know this is early days and the bike is not really set up for me so perhaps things can be improved for tomorrow race; if anything I would like the throttle to have better reaction times, more like my gas bike. After the first lap I thought the bike had broken, as it came to a complete stop. I checked everything and it all seemed ok and then I noticed, in trying to get the best aerodynamics for the bike, I accidently sat on the emergency stop button on the rear of the bike, it was a relief to discover the problem was not a major one.”   Daniel Bergau (91 for Bergau Racing) Fellow German racer also on a Mavizen TTX02 added, “for me, there is no big difference in the handling of the bike going into corners; in the corner and coming out of the corner however it would be great to have more power as well as control. I think I will get used to this before tomorrow sprint race. For us, entering this class is fun, it’s interesting to get to try out new technology but I want more power.” <media _blank>Results</media>