The First Electric Motocross Event Was in Vegas

The 5,000 participants at this year’s Mini AMA/Maxxis Supercross race held last week at the Orleans Arena, Vegas, had the privilege to attend the first electric motocross event aimed at promoting greener sport riding.

Two companies, Quantya and Zero, came with a fleet of electric motocross dirt bikes and competed head to head in a 6 lap race. The race started quiet, with legendary riders such as Mike Metzger riding for Quantya and Ryan Dudek, riding for Zero. With all electric motors, the competing motorcycles generated little noise and no gas fumes.

Out of 11 riders in the race, Brian Roth and David Lodermeier, both riding for Quantya, celebrated as they came in first and second respectively, leaving the other riders far behind them. Even Metzger, who had troubles at the start of the race, had caught up and ended the race in fifth place for team Quantya.

"We are proud to be a part of the first ever electric motocross race and dedicate this momentous win to our loyal customers and the entire Quantya Team. We want to extend our most sincere thank you to our sponsors, No Fear and Fox Shox for their support!" said Dario Trentini, CEO, Quantya USA.

Quantia, the Swiss company that produces the e-bike was started by inventor and moto-enthusiast Max Modena, who wanted to build an envio-friendly machine in response to the lack of riding areas and the banning of two-stroke motors by the Swiss government.

FMX electric motocross bike weighs 88.5 kg, charges in two hours and can endure more than 1000 charge/discharge cycles. The lithium-polymer battery pack can give 30-180 minutes of run time, depending on the usage. Output is equivalent to around 20 horsepower, with a top-speed of 45mph.
More images in the gallery below.