One of the most exciting and intriguing additions to the British Arenacross Championship Presented by Fix Auto UK for 2024 is the new Stark Future team, running the all-new Stark Varg.
This means an electric motorcycle will race against standard internal combustion machinery, counting for points in an official national championship for the very first time in history.
With legendary two-time World Motocross Champion Sebastien Tortelli (one of the fastest racers on the planet in the 1990s) in charge, a team consisting of reigning series #3 Jack Brunell, former AMA Lites Champion Justin Bogle and young British charger Eddie Jay Wade, Stark have the manpower to make the best of the machinery and show how well the bike can perform.
The Varg (Swedish for ‘wolf’) produces around 80 bhp, a level equivalent to a well-tuned 450F motocross bike, and despite weighing slightly more, riders say it feels lighter because of how the weight is distributed. It runs without a clutch, so that twist-and-go feel is easy to ride because the engine is always in the ‘sweet spot’ and missing a gear is never a problem!
Sebastien Tortelli said: “We’re very enthusiastic about competing with combustion motorcycles, sharing our vision and the potential of electric motorcycles. We were invited last year but weren’t ready, so now after two years of development and testing the bike is good to line up. We started preparation for Arenacross in July 2023, then got Jack and Justin onboard in November. The bike is charged onsite, and one charge would be enough for the whole night’s programme, although we still charge between races just to be sure.”
So what’s it like to ride? Jack Brunell said: “The biggest thing is there’s no gear changes; the power just keeps going through the whoops, but I never used a clutch on a 450 anyway. Just using my natural throttle control, through feel and not through sound, I can race as normal and put the power on correctly for the traction available.”
Oklahoma’s Justin Bogle is making his debut in the Arenacross British Championship and loving the prospect of riding in a country where he has a strong family connection, he said: “My wife Charlise is from Essex, so we have family here! I’m super-excited to race the series; it’s completely new for me but especially to race the Stark as well – it’s something different and cool to do, for me it’s a similar change to going from two-stroke to four-stroke. I’m really pumped on working with the Stark guys, and I’m not wearing a salesman’s hat here when I say that riding it is legitimately as much fun as I’ve ever had on a dirt bike.”
Justin will be staying near the Stark factory in Barcelona for the duration of the championship, he said: “I’m an American and I love America, but to be staying in two countries that are so cool for the next couple months is going to be great.
“I’ve seen Tommy and Conrad racing on the footage from Arenacross TV, they look fast, and the series looks like it’s doing great things for the Motocross community in the UK. I don’t know too many guys there, although Neil Prince was my mechanic at World Supercross and he’s a ‘good bloke’ as they say, so it would be nice to see him and get to know the other guys too.”
Matt Bates, Arenacross promoter said: “With the experience of Jack Brunell and Justin Bogle, the aggression of Eddie Jay Wade, together with the leadership of Sebastien Tortelli overseeing the operation, Team Stark Future are a unique and tantalising proposition to watch closely for the 2024 British Arenacross Championship!”
Tickets for the 2024 British Arenacross Championship presented by Fix Auto UK are on sale now, visit www.arenacrossuk.com now.
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