Fans of the light, agile, and award-winning electric motorcycles from Swedish bike-maker CAKE will have even more electrified two-wheeled goodness to get excited about in just a few months’ time. That’s because CAKE’s “One Design” single-make racing series will kick off officially, as a single event at the Gotland Ring on the island of (of course) Gotland, Sweden in summer 2021!
It’ll look something like this, courtesy CAKE.
We’ve known about plans for the race series ever since CAKE released this video, featuring the Kalks OR and INK OR racing bikes that would be used in the series. The clip below speaks about the One Design race series’ bikes and its planned eco-system:
What’s new here is that the series is actually, for-real going to happen. Given the huge hit that the COVID-19 pandemic originally dealt to the global motorcycle market — especially in Europe and India — last spring, that outcome definitely didn’t always seem like a sure thing! “We were fully committed to delivering a race series this year,” says the event’s organizer (and CAKE founder/CEO), Stefan Ytterborn. “However, as the Coronavirus continues to cause disruption we decided to focus on a single event, a taste of the excitement to come next year!”
OK, so one event is less exciting than many events, but that one event is sure to be quality, thanks to the input of Swedish Enduro rider Robert Kvarnström, who helped design the purpose-built track to, “deliver maximum thrill per meter, perfectly suiting the lightweight agility and performance of the CAKE electric motorcycles.” So, yeah — with numerous national Enduro titles under his belt, plus the added benefit of having designed the track, the smart money will be on Kvarnström when the lights go out for the start of the 16 invitation-only rider race.
This is the guy you want to bet on, courtesy CAKE.
That hardly seems fair, does it?
Still, the point isn’t fairness, it’s about putting on a show and introducing the MX crowd to CAKE’s electric offerings. “Our ambition is to bring back motorcycle racing to the masses, fighting the decline in traditional ICE two-wheeled motorsport events,” says Ytterborn. “There’s a real possibility to spawn a new spectator-friendly competitive sport. The One Design enables this wonderfully because we can operate professional races in urban locations without noise, minimal disturbance, and zero pollution. (It’s) a game-changer … CAKE’s motorcycles are an inclusive way to bring action pursuits to the masses—wherever there is a small piece of land someone can get into the sport.”
If the race generates enough interest, CAKE hopes to expand the event into a series of MX-style races in major cities worldwide that they’ll call Global City Racing. The races will take place Thursdays through Sundays, and occur “in the spirit of fun, excitement, and sustainability.” Hardware will be restricted to standard Kalk OR and Kalk INK OR model bikes that, apart from battery swaps, riders won’t be allowed to modify (only repair).
What do you guys think? Will electric MX and supermoto races offer the same thrills ICE-powered races have for a century? Will they be more appealing without the two-stroke haze and loud brap-brap-BRAAAAAAP of the ICE? Scroll on down to the bottom of the page and let us know if you’d go see some CAKEs teara** around your downtown in the comments.
Source | Images: CAKE, via New Atlas.
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