Rapp Scores Electrifying Win at Laguna Seca

Steve Rapp broke a few electric motorcycle barriers this weekend during the TTXGP / FIM e-Power round at Laguna Seca. Rapp took the race win on Sunday, but more importantly, he drastically raised the bar for electric motorcycle performance.

"The name of the bike, Mission, is the perfect name," Rapp said after the race. "This company has been on an absolute mission to give me a great bike to ride."

Rapp dropped more than 10 seconds off of the Laguna Seca lap record for an electric motorcycle over the course of the weekend, but he wasn't the only fast bike on the track. Nearly every rider in the TTXGP / FIM e-Power race today was lapping under the times from 2010.

With the MotoGP riders heading to the track later this afternoon, the electric motorcycle racers got the chance to show-off in front of a huge international crowd.

"It was great to have such a large crowd to show what these bikes are capable of," Rapp said. "We don't know what the future holds, but it looks good."

Michael Czysz, who finished second for the day, was impressed and encouraged by Rapp's performance.

"These are the early days of the electric racing," Czysz said. "It's definitely on the rise. Someone has to be willing to take these early bullets, and these guys up here, we're are all willing to take it.

"Everybody's interested in what the next big thing is. We're confident that we can have this race for another 100 years."

Michael Barnes, who took third today by just .3 seconds behind Czysz, was equally optimistic about the future of electric motorcycles.

"We're catching up pretty fast," Barnes said. "Who knows where we'll be going next? The sky is the limit. It's a really an exciting adventure to be on."

TTXGP / FIM e-Power Race Results – Laguna Seca

1. Rapp – Mission Motors – Mission R
2. Czysz – Segway Racing MotoCzysz – Motoczysz E1PC
3. Michael Barnes – Lightning Motorcycles – Lightning
4. Atlast -Brammo Racing – Brammo Empulse RR
5. Brannetti CRP Racing p ECRP 1.4
6. Himmelmann – Munch Racing Team – Munch TTE 2
7. Wolff – Moto Electra Racing – Moto Electra
8. Moreda – CRP Racing ERCP 1.4
9. Schless – Proto Moto Racing – Proto Moto
10. Manzano – LGN Racing Team - E-Jarama

You can see photos from the TTXGP / FIM e-Power series at Laguna Seca here.