At the end of February 2024, we told you about the battle brewing between electric motorcycle startup Stark Future and the FIM. Stark Future essentially expended a whole bunch of time, effort, and resources to meet the FIM's regulations as written so that its bike could compete in the SuperEnduro World Championship in 2024.
At the very last second, however, the FIM changed the rules seemingly with the explicit purpose of barring the Stark Varg from entry. Why? It was to be the lone electric bike in a field of combustion bikes.
Needless to say, Stark Future wasn't happy. Fast-forward to March 2024, when the FIM just announced a new electric motorcycle racing support series to run before (but crucially, not against) the MXGP class. In fact, Stark Future's official announcement of its opposition to this plan makes its feelings pretty clear right in the title: Stark Future Challenges MXGP Proposal for Segregated Electric Support Class.
In other words, separate and unequal, according to Stark.
Instead, Stark Future says, it wants to see integration of electric bikes into racing head-to-head with combustion bikes. Less MotoE and more RSD Super Hooligan Racing.
Because while it isn't SuperEnduro, we've already seen what can happen when a solid electric motorbike, team, and rider square off against an all-combustion field. I talked to Stefano Mesa in 2023, when he managed to finish in fourth place overall in the Mission Foods Super Hooligan Racing 2023 class on his Energica Eva Ribelle. They were the only electric team on the grid, and Mesa was regularly scrapping at the front. It was also Energica's first full season racing in the series.
That was 2023, though, and also a completely different series not overseen by the FIM. Here's what Stark Future said in its official statement announcing its opposition to the FIM and Infront's plans to silo off the electric superenduro racing from MXGP.
"Stark Future, a prominent innovator in motocross, firmly opposes MXGP/ Infront's proposal to introduce a separate Electric Support Class alongside MXGP events. While recognizing the goal of driving technological advancements, Stark Future believes that segregation is not the solution. Instead, seeing integration as an opportunity for all sides to thrive. By embracing new technologies at the highest level of racing, Stark Future envisions making racing more captivating for fans while fostering the strongest technological improvements across the board," the statement reads.
Further down, there's also a statement from Stark Future founder and CEO Anton Wass, which reads, "As CEO and Founder of Stark Future, I firmly believe that segregating electric bikes into a separate class undermines the essence of true competition in motocross. Our mission is to break barriers and showcase the potential of electric technology on equal footing with internal combustion engines."
He continued, "Motocross thrives on innovation and pushing boundaries, and segregation only hinders our collective progress towards a more inclusive and dynamic sport. World Trials have done a great job on including Electric with combustion and have shown that when the platform is competitive it has its place amongst combustion counterparts."
Maybe we already have the answer to the question that RideApart contributor Tim Stevens posed in that earlier Stark Future/FIM piece, about why motorcycle racing is afraid of this electric bike? Maybe it's afraid that the Stark Varg will be too competitive right out of the gate, so instead it changed the regulations to keep that from happening.
We obviously can't tell you what was in the hearts and minds of the folks who changed the rules, but when viewed with a critical eye, there's more than enough to make you raise an eyebrow.
