Racing an Electric Dirt Bike vs Full Field of 450 Four Strokes!

Is the age of combustion coming to an end? We are here at the Adrian Flux Arena in Kingsland today with dirt track ace Alan Birtwistle and he's going to take this all-electric ultra redshift up against a full field of 450 dirt track bikes. It's going to be a fun one. As we know, with the introduction of the Stark VAG MX bike, the dawn of the electric era is well But can electric machines really beat out the might of petrol-powered motors? Well, we are at the races today to try and work that out. Rightly so, there's been a lot of hype surrounding the Stark and that machine might just be the game changer that has been promised. But Joe Public won't be able to get their hands on one of these sci-fi rides for a good few months yet at least. However, the VAG certainly isn't the first all-electric dirt bike to make a play as a serious contender. Back in 2016, Alta Motors unveiled the Redshift and it immediately started making waves over in California. I was actually lucky enough to be one of the first journalists in the world to bag a test ride on one of these bikes. Sadly, the Alta deal went south and the brand seemed to disappear almost overnight. But luckily for us, the guys at Futuromoto in the UK pre-emptively bought a bunch of Altas to race in competitions here in Europe. So we've hooked up with Alan, Phil and the rest of the Futuromoto team here today at round three of the DTRA Championships to have a bit of battery-powered fun. So yes, we will be racing the Alta in a hotly contested showdown against the 454 Strokes a little later on. But to get us started, Alan and the boys lined up for a few all-electric races to get things going. Alan Birtwistle is a multi-time British dirt track champion with some awesome accolades on his resume. He's raced all over the world and has some of the most impressive bike skill I've ever seen. He's the perfect man to have some fun on the all-electric machine and bring the fight to the four strokes. The DTRA series consists of three heats that lead up to the all-important finale at the end of the day. The heats will ultimately decide your place on the grid for that grand final, so it's serious business from the very first lights out. Here we go then, the first heat of the day is underway and it looks like a decent start for Alan Birtwistle on the all-electric machine. He's into second around the first turn, chasing down the race leader as we come around to complete the first lap of action. Here comes Alan up the inside, laying down the power on the electric machine, diving up the inside to try and steal away the race lead. And he does just that, so Alan Birtwistle into the lead on the Alta Redshift machine. But he's got company, that's the number 11, that's the other Birtwistle in this race, the younger brother, that's Gary, and he's looking formidable here today, slingshotting around the outside of Alan, his older brother. So yes, Gary Birtwistle into the lead then, and all Alan can do is just watch that number 11 disappear off into the distance. It soon became apparent that Alan's main competition for the day would come in the form of his younger brother Gary, and this rivalry would actually become the theme of the heat. But we'll see if Alan can finally put a stop to Gary and his pesky four-stroke in the grand final. Alan has put in some fine performances so far today, but he's yet to claim a chequered flag, so this is his final chance to put the Alta Redshift on the top of the box. Can he really defeat all of the petrol-powered machines and prove that the future of moto truly is electric? We're about to find out. The lights are out on the grand final in the pro class then. It's Gary Birtwistle with the hole shot, he leads the way early on. Alan Birtwistle, he's buried in about fifth or sixth position around the first corner. Here he comes in on the all-electric machine. Alan Birtwistle positions himself in fifth position as the opening lap comes to a close, but he's looking to move forward as quickly as possible, and he quickly moves into fourth position there. A nice move from Alan Birtwistle, he now has the podium places in his sights. His focus is set firmly forward, let's see what he can do. He's going to want to put that Alta electric machine on the box, that's for sure. He's hunting down the number 93 machine, inching ever closer. It looks like he's ready to strike. Alan Birtwistle, it's all over the rear wheel of the third position man now. Here he goes, diving up the inside, there goes Alan Birtwistle, can he make the bar stick? Yes he does, and the third place man goes down. That just goes to show how easy it is to make a mistake on the track here today at the end of proceedings. So Alan Birtwistle firmly into third position now, and he has the race leaders in his sights with just a handful of laps to go. This is going to be a dramatic end to this one, I am sure. Just a handful of laps left to go. Alan Birtwistle seems to be closing on the race leaders, and the leaders are down. Both of them, both riders are down. That leaves Alan Birtwistle in the race lead. The red flag comes out, and there is confusion out on track. Where has Alan finished in the end? Well, in the all-electric class, Alan grabbed the overall win. And after that red flag, Alan managed to walk away with second overall in the pro class. So does that prove that the future of moto is electric? Thanks for watching guys, I hope you enjoyed this one. Something a little bit different for the channel this week. As always though, my name is Max, you've been watching 999 Laser. Till next time, I'll see you at the track.