RACE REPORT

Sonoma CA – Veteran road racer Arthur Kowitz took a pair of wins in the AHRMA-sanctioned eMotoRacing events sponsored by Woodcraft Technologies April 30-May 1 at Sonoma Raceway . Kowitz rode his streamlined Brammo TTX with precision. He used a blend of corner speed and consistency to outpace an aggressive field of Zero and Brammo mounted competitors on Sonoma’s technical racecourse.

As the flag dropped for the Thursday race, Oregon rider Jai Armstrong on an experimental, high voltage Brammo TTX took the hole shot. His lead quickly ended as a malfunction left him stranded at the chicane in the first lap. Armstrong was able to reboot the bike and continue, but by that time had fallen behind, and California’s Jeff Clark took the lead. Two laps in, Zero rider Brandon Nozaki-Miller pulled off into the sand. He ended his race early when his motorcycle began to display signs of technical issues.

It took two and a half laps for Kowitz to pass Clark for the lead. The Florida rider then began to widen the gap. Armstrong struggled to make ground on the leaders. By the time the checkered flag is waved, it’s Kowitz, Clark and Armstrong, followed by South Carolina’s Pete Nicolosi, Murrae Haynes of New Mexico, and Nathan Barker.

Fridays race began in different fashion. Jeff Clark rocketed off the line, taking advantage of an overnight gearing change on his Hollywood Electrics sponsored Zero. Kowitz followed in hot pursuit. The field behind the leaders remained bunched up, as Nozaki-Miller has solved his technical issues. Nozaki-Miller and Brammo Empulse mounted Nicolosi have installed new race tires on their respective ebikes, which benefited each rider quite a bit.

Three laps in and and Clark’s held a strong lead running two seconds a lap faster than Kowitz, while Nicolosi, Barker and Miller battled for third. When Clark approached the very tight bus stop on lap 4, he attempted a risky pass on one of the gas bikes from the first wave. This move ended in an unexpected low side crash that ended Clark’s day. Kowitz now held a strong lead. Nicolosi remained aggressive and pulled into second place.

Going into the last lap we have Kowitz, Nicolosi, Nozaki-Miller, while Barker just barely held off Haynes. Kowitz took first, followed by Nicolosi and Nozaki-Miller. Haynes and Barker ran neck and neck until the last corner when Haynes pulled ahead to claim 4th place.

The next eMotoRacing event is at Road America in Wisconsin on June 5, 6, and 7.