Tech Tuesday: Electric Dreams

This year is a milestone for FIM world championship motorcycling and World Supercross is on the front lines. Electric mobility has been increasingly embraced by society in the last ten years but until now this technology has not gone into competition with traditional internal combustion engines (ICE) when it comes to world championships and two-wheeled motorsport. 

This is understandable because how do you make things equal? Electric bikes have wonderful benefits when it comes to the environment, a lack of emissions and noise, and lower maintenance, and they can tap into huge resources of usable torque. They are compact, usually lighter and more agile. Simplicity is another advantage: set-up the bike with the help of a laptop for power delivery, twist the throttle and off you go while braking like a bicycle.

But the FIM also wanted to keep racing affordable, they were wary of limited battery life at peak performance, which is still a factor that limits many EV platforms, and safety was also a consideration. 

MotoE and the FIM X-Plorer championship gave companies or brands a way to put their electric two-wheelers on a track or trail against other EVs. The first test of electricity versus combustion came in 2024 when the FIM tweaked the rulebook for SuperEnduro – stadium-based, short circuit, rapid-blast races across diverse artificial terrain. Now, the guidelines have been expanded to the World Supercross Championship and Barcelona-based firm Stark have taken the challenge of competing against the ICE giants.   

The company unveiled their Stark VARG in 2023. It created a stir in the motorcycle industry because of a highly-developed powertrain, honeycomb cell tech, innovation (the forged steel swingarm construction, footpegs and detachable smartphone dashboard) and premium parts like KYB suspension. It also looked pretty damn good!

Rivers of power were on tap with 80hp making it the quickest off-road motorcycle on the market. Stark then beefed-up the tech specs for the VARG 1.2 in 2025, and that’s the basis of the bike that will be pushing the chrono in World Supercross. 

Why the ‘basis’? The VARG 1.2 has to go through two rounds of modifications. The first will be for added parts to make the bikes ready for elite racing in the hands of capable professionals. For example, different suspension internals and tougher wheels and hubs to cope with the large jumps of a World Supercross track.

The second involves the FIM criteria that applies to all electric entrants. Electric bikes must have the following: 117kg minimum weight, regulated hardware for data logging and sensors, a 1450mm wheelbase, LED sidelights and restricted power. This last point is key. In the case of the VARG 1.2 the drivetrain is one size. The output can then be generated through the ECU, so the motorcycle can perform like a 125cc or a 500cc. For the VARG 1.2 to race in SX1 then it’s limited to 54kW, similar to a production 450cc ICE. For SX2 then it’s capped at 44kW to hover around the 250s.

“The FIM class us as Prototype,” explains Stark Racing Director Sebastien Tortelli. “We have 2D loggers and a system that can be monitored all the time. The figures will be the equivalent of the other bikes…and we arrived at those after a lot of testing with the FIM. We had the engine on a dyno, we were on track with external test riders, we did starts from point A to point B: all of this was for evaluation. But the FIM is also willing to assess and make changes if they see fit.”

All World Supercross stars grew up and honed their skills on ICE motorcycles. The drift to electric requires a small change of mentality to utilise the strength of the engine torque, the lack of a clutch and the handlebar rear brake (although some still like to use a footpedal operated system). The agility of the bike is another change because the whole architecture is different. There is no exhaust, filters, gas tank. Therefore, getting the balance right with the weight is another part of the ‘dialling-in’ for World Supercross.

Tortelli says that Stark are still grafting to get as close to that permitted 117kg. “We’re not quite there yet,” the former MX World Champion says. “The battery pack is pretty heavy and this helps us and we can also place the weight where we want. As we do more races then it is something else we can refine. Last year we had to add weight for SuperEnduro but the races were completely different and supercross is more demanding. We’re around 119kg but we can still lose a bit more. It may change and we’re working on it.”

“We apply titanium parts to lose weight but then gain in other places like the wheels and tyres,” he adds. “We also stay to a certain horsepower and kW, and the delivery of the power is different. It has to be totally reprogrammed. The chassis is also a little stiffer. Apart from little details about racing, the bike is very close to the standard VARG 1.2.”

Every World Supercross bike has to pass through technical control before they can turn a wheel in battle, but the electric models will come under the careful watch of the FIM Technical Director who can make random scrutineering checks at any point in the meeting.

Stark attempted FIM SuperEnduro with mixed results. They also took part in AMA Arenacross with an iteration of the VARG 1.2 and showed podium potential. The company has competed and earned trophies in the French SX Tour Supercross series so World Supercross is the next frontier and all the racing developStark ment has led to this point. 

“We are in this competition and that’s the criteria,” Tortelli says. “Like any other brand the VARG will have its advantages and disadvantages for performance. It’s a mix, and a game. We might be low in power but it will be assessed after some races, this is what we found in SuperEnduro and it worked well for us.”

The motorcycle industry and FIM competition is still trying to assess the future landscape with electric bikes. MotoE, part of the MotoGP series, goes on hiatus for 2026 which looks like a setback to progress, but the off-road world with its shorter tracks and reduced technical demands is heading in the other direction thanks to the integration in World Supercross and attempts at parity.  

“This is our first shot. We have no experience in World Supercross so we will be on the learning curve. We haven’t competed yet on a big track. Vince [Friese] is excited and has been getting faster; we’re expecting some good results with him. The other guys are new to the championship even if they are not new to Supercross. We’ll learn as we go but if we can be in the top five in our first year then this would be great and we build from there.”

Four-stroke combustion engines have been ruling off-road racing since the first years of the century; that’s a lot of mileage and experience for performance and reliability. Add star talent to these bikes and it’s a hefty challenge for new boys like Stark to combat. But an electric world champion in the coming seasons? Don’t disconnect the idea. 

How do they stack up? Stark versus a traditional combustion bike