The Münch electric show in Magny-Cours Matthias Himmelmann wins infront of Katja Poensgen The Münch Racing Team used in Magny-Cours the experience of their rider, Matthias Himmelmann, as well as their technology flair, since the creation of the FIM e-Power International Championship in 2010. He won the 1st round of the 2012 championship this morning for the opening of the Bol d’Or. Riding his impressive Münch TTE 2.0, a machine weighing 220 kg powered by a battery pack of 350 V/40 Ah, Matthias Himmelmann put the “second” gear half way into the race to win with more than thirty seconds ahead of his team mate, Katja Poensgen. The ex rider of GP250, seemed seduced by these electric bikes and has joined the Münch Racing Team for this race in Magny-Cours but could well be racing for the rest of the season. She took the second place of this race with the evolved Münch TTE 2.0. Münch is using their experience in competition to announce that they will be commercializing electric powered motorcycles in 2014. Matthias said ‘We are quite happy with this result, after a winter of development and testing. Our aim was to obtain better performance through better control of our energy pack. Having two riders in the team provides us extra information for our development program.” After her first e-Power race Katja Poensgen said: “I really enjoyed the race. The feeling on the bike is completely different to when I was riding in GP250. I have to use my brain (she smiled). It is very much a tactical race, where you have to observe your opponents and manage the battery life at the same time. I am not sure how long this Championship will take to develop but I am very happy to be a part of the adventure.” Christian Amendt of EPO Racing Team fought hard during the entire race with the two other Münch motorcycles before being left behind by his two opponents. His EPO Bike is a machine weighing 99 kg with a battery pack of 90 V/60Ah. Christian Amendt is developing his new motor which should be ready for the next race the 10th June on the Hungaroring track. The first FIM e-Power round showed a clear improvement on motorcycle reliability and performance. Oriol Gallemi FIM e-Power technical director comments “We are proud to present such pieces of art to the public for the third year in a row. Spectators were shocked by the motorcycles whistle, and celebrated the podium ceremony with plenty of pictures of the heroes and their machines”.