Since launching the first Kalk electric motorcycle in 2018, Sweden's Cake has gone from off-road trails to city streets to rolling workbench. Later this year, the company returns to its dirt-bike roots to host its first motocross race.
The first Cake Kalk One Design Global Championships is set to be an invitational, and will see 16 of the world's top enduro, motocross, supercross and downhill mountain biking riders quietly tear around a purpose-built track on the island of Gotland, Sweden.
"The Cake Kalk One Design race is a 4X format," revealed event and race coordinator, JP Baralo. "With four racers in each heat racing to qualify. It’s a double elimination concept with winners and losers rounds, to eventually announce a winner."
The two-wheelers used for races will be the company's Kalk Or and Ink models, both featuring a 6061 aluminum frame with plastic bodywork, an 11-kW motor producing 280 Nm (206 lb.ft) of torque at the wheel and a top speed of 90 km/h (56 mph), a 50-Ah/2.6-kWh battery for trail/enduro riding for up to three hours per charge, and 19-inch wheel to the front and an 18-inch wheel to the rear, both rocking motorcross tires.
The Or bike comes with Öhlins upside-down air forks with 204 mm of travel and Öhlins TTX22 shock to the back, while the Ink moto sports upside down MX spring forks with 200 mm of travel and a direct-mounted shock at the rear.
And, apart from swapping batteries, no changes to the e-motos can be made unless it's to replace like-for-like parts.
The Gotland Ring track has been designed and built for purpose by Swedish enduro rider Robert Kvarnström, who is promising "maximum thrill per meter" and will also be one of the riders taking part in the competition. All riders will get the chance to face each other thanks to a "round robin" format, before the focus changes to knock-out semis and finals.
Though the competition will be the first One Design championship, the first Kalk race organized by Cake was held in St Tropez, France, last September. Cake had intended to deliver a series of races this year, but the current global pandemic forced the company to focus on a single competition event instead. More urban races are being planned for major cities worldwide during 2022.
"Our ambition is to bring back motorcycle racing to the masses, fighting the decline in traditional ICE two-wheeled motorsport events," said Cake's CEO Stefan Ytterborn. "There’s a real possibility to spawn a new spectator-friendly competitive sport. The One Design enables this wonderfully because we can operate professional races in urban locations without noise, minimal disturbance, and zero pollution (70 percent of tracks around the world have had to close down the past 15 years due to the opposite). Pair this with the limited need for space and the ease of attracting spectators and media, and it’s a game-changer."
The actual date of the Kalk One Design Global Championships will be announced in March.
Source: Cake