When you think about electric motorcycles, what do you think of? Nearly instantaneous torque and smooth, consistent power delivery immediately come to mind. Although battery technology and range aren’t yet to the point where electric endurance racing seems like a great idea, racing styles that involve short, fast heats—like the Cake Worlds Race, for example—make a ton of sense.
In 2022, the Cake Worlds Race follows on from what the Cake Kalk One Design Championship started in 2021. For those unfamiliar, Cake is a Swedish electric motorcycle maker, offering a range of different options for customers worldwide who want to roll electric and also make a unique design statement at the same time. The Cake Worlds Race is a one-model format, where competitors each race on the exact same bike in the exact same condition to keep the equipment as evenly balanced as possible.
The bike in question is the Cake Kalk OR race bike, which makes a claimed 15 horsepower and an impressive 206 pound-feet of torque while weighing about 165 pounds, including the battery. Top speed is 56-ish miles per hour—and it comes with a super-sweet fully adjustable Öhlins suspension. The Kalk OR race boasts three ride modes, from the low-speed Explore mode (top speed of 28 mph and three to four hours of range) on up to the all-out performance mode, called Excel (no limits; range of approximately one hour).
Now that the Cake Worlds Race is in its second year, the Swedish OEM decided to bring it to North America for the first time. The inaugural Cake Worlds Race event took place in beautiful Del Mar, California, at the historic Del Mar Fairgrounds. The extremely breezy semi-outdoor arena usually hosts horse racing—but from April 29 through May 1, 2022, the dirt was lovingly sculpted into a wicked motocross track.
A slew of professional talent was invited to participate in this first event, hailing from across the motocross and mountain bike disciplines. The lineup included talented competitors Cole Seely, DJ Brandt, Ethan Nell, Jaxson Riddle, AJ Catanzaro, Mike Giese, Ashley Fiolek, Seth Stevens (who won the 2021 championship), Josh Mosiman, Orlana Fraser, Nathon Verdugo, Dennis Stapleton, Edgar Cota, Xylena Hoppen, Danika White, and Dani Johnson.
Racers were all outfitted with the same Kalk OR race machines for practice, as well as all the competition heats in the 2022 Cake Worlds Race – North America. Practice sessions helped the racers get to grips with these machines, and a series of round robin events saw competitors in the gender-neutral series all face off head-to-head as they racked up points to progress to the knockout rounds.
Gallery: 2022 Cake Worlds Race - North American Championship
I was lucky enough to attend this event on behalf of RideApart, and I have to say, this kind of racing is exactly what a lightweight, torque-happy electric bike like the Kalk OR race is meant for. Short, fast, exciting MX competition is a ton of fun to see in person. Sure, you don’t have the engine noise that you’d normally expect at most MX events—but then you can have a conversation with someone next to you, and you don’t need to worry so much about earplugs. The experience might seem a little different without all those fuel fumes in the air—but the competitive spirit is absolutely present and accounted for. I say that as a person who’s been watching multiple kinds of racing for years, just as a fan.
As with many race weekends, events stretched out in Del Mar over the course of three days. Friday was for practice, and for the pro racers to get familiar with these new machines they’d be riding in the one-make series. Saturday was all about the pro racers, with an appropriately challenging course set up to showcase their talents. Sunday was the open class, with the berms toned down just a bit so those who weren’t yet at pro level could have a better time.
So, how did North America’s first Cake One Worlds race go? After all the round robin and knockout rounds concluded, professional MXA test rider Josh Mosiman walked away with the title of North American 4X champion. Pro MX racer and two-time X Games gold medalist Ashley Fiolek took home the title of best female rider, and 2021 Cake One Design Champion Seth Stevens took home third place. Dylan Gaszak achieved first place in the amateur class.
Now the 2022 Cake Worlds Race is off to Europe for the next two rounds, first in France in July and then in Sweden in August. The Cake Worlds Race Finals will take place at the Fox Raceway in Pala, California in September, 2022. That’s where this slate of North American winners will take on their European counterparts to decide who’s champion in 2022.
“Cake Worlds is all about spreading the joy of bike riding, proving that it is inclusive while showing that it’s possible to enjoy motorbike racing without polluting or disturbing the local community,” said Cake founder and CEO Stefan Ytterborn in a statement.
“With 70 percent of all motorsport tracks having closed their doors in the past 15 years, mainly due to issues of noise and pollution, we see a clear opportunity to establish a new racing format that everyone can enjoy.”
If you love racing, and you love the fun it brings, you should definitely check this series out if you get the chance.
