The Season kicks off at the Bol d’Or Katja Poensgen takes centre stage at Magny-Cours The FIM e-Power International Championship has a new high-profile ambassadress. Katja Poensgen will be onboard one of the bikes entered for the 2012 season’s curtain raiser at Nevers Magny-Cours. The German rider, who won her spurs in the 250 cc World Championship before bowing out in 2003, is making a popular comeback in this championship reserved for electrically powered machines. “I stopped riding competitively 9 years ago, then I had my daughter and I wasn’t thinking about racing again,” Katja explains, “but last year I was invited to test an electric bike on a TV show and I was won over. When Munch Racing invited me to ride at Magny-Cours, I said yes. The bike is fun to ride. Of course there is no noise or smell, but it is beautifully smooth and you have to use your brain much more to get a good performance than when you ride a classic bike.” Riding Munch Racing # 65, Katja Poensgen signed the second-best lap time of the first e-Power qualifying session in 2’11.875 behind fellow German Matthias Himmelmann, winner of the 2011 FIM e-Power International Championship. Matthias Himmelmann clocked up his best lap in 1’59.435 on Munch Racing # 49, equipped with a new and more powerful battery pack. Another German, Chris Amendt of EPO Racing Team, took third position in the qualifications with a time of 2’30.294. For economic reasons and because of delays in preparation at the start of the season, the starting grid of this first round of the 2012 FIM e-Power International Championship is still relatively sparse, but there are plenty of French, Italian, Belgian and Spanish teams waiting in the wings and eager to join the fray. The second qualifying session of the FIM e-Power International Championship will take place at Magny-Cours in the early afternoon. More, from another press release issued by FIM: Münch Racing Team still in front at Magny-Cours Electric motorcycles forge ahead The German team Münch Racing has taken both first and second place on the starting grid at the first round of the FIM e-Power International Championship that will take place tomorrow morning as the curtain-raiser for the 76th Bol d’Or at Magny-Cours. Matthias Himmelmann confirmed his claim to pole position by lapping in 1’58.084 ahead of his popular team-mate, Katja Poensgen, whose best lap-time was 2’10.697. This season, 2011 FIM e-Power International Championship victor Matthias Himmelmann is riding a motorcycle with a new battery pack that provides longer life to boost racing performances, while Katja Poensgen is testing the new electric engine developed by Münch. Christian Amendt and his EPO Racing Team are back racing after a break. Fourth in the 2010 FIM e-Power International Championship, this German rider is also working on the development of his new electric powered motorcycle. Other rivals have chosen to sit out this opening round. We should see both the performances and the number of motorcycles forge ahead as we move through the events of this 2012 season. 2012 FIM e-Power International Championship 14 April Magny-Cours France 10 June Hungaroring Hungary 28 July Laguna Seca USA (event combined with TTX GP) 11 August Oschersleben Germany (event combined with TTX GP) 8 September Le Mans France (event combined with TTX GP)