The terribly-named eSkootr Championship is coming in the near future, and folks: I am ready for this ridiculous concept. Especially now that I found out these electric scooters are going to be cruising along at over 60 miles per hour.
If you have remained blissfully unaware of the concept of an electric scooter racing championship, allow me to burst your bubble. Those terrible electric scooters that descended on major metropolitan areas around the world are actually going to be put to use in a racing format in what our own Bradley Brownell referred to as a “Tron-looking grid.” These lil things are designed for micromobility but are now taking on… micro-raceability?
Whatever the case, the series has just released some of the initial specs about these scooters, and, uh… I am actually totally interested now.
Allow me to put some of this into Americanized context. That impressive 100+ kmh speed is the equivalent of 62 mph, which is ridiculous. The plague scooters from companies like Bird or Lime are limited to 15 mph on public roads, and even that can feel obscenely fast if you, like me, have very little coordination or core strength.
So, yes. You’re damn right that my interest has been piqued by the prospect of a 60 mph scooters battling it out on tight street circuits even if I still find the whole concept incredibly goofy. It’s like watching cycling but without the benefit of human exertion. It’s like karting but standing up. And it doesn’t seem like it’ll cost a ton of money to put on a decent show, either, since spec scooters are infinitely cheaper than even a spec race car.
And the series does have a sense of legitimacy provided to it considering how many big names are involved. It’s the brainchild of Lucas di Grassi and Alex Wurz. The former is a Formula E champion and has finished on the podium several times at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The latter is a former racer who has been working closely with the FIA for the past several years, including serving as a race steward at Formula One events.
More recently, the legendary Peter Wright joined up with the series as the Chair of Sport and Technical Commission. You might be familiar with Wright due to his involvement with the iconic ground-effect Lotus chassis in Formula One.
I’m going to be honest—the series has potential. And I’m absolutely here to watch people fully send it on an adorable electric scooter.
Leave a Reply
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
