Best Buy official sponsor for Brammo Enertia TTXGP race team

Best Buy has hopped on as an official sponsor of the Brammo Enertia race team, which will be campaigning a pair of electric motorcycles at the world's first zero-emissions motorcycle race on June 12th at the Isle of Man. The news of Best Buy's involvement doesn't come as too much of a surprise since the Big Box retailer had earlier invested a large chunk of cash in Brammo and plans to begin selling the road-going Enertia in West Coast stores on a trial basis this summer. Plus, Best Buy already sponsors a race team that competes in NASCAR competition.

Brammo's TTR race bike is based on the chassis used in the standard Enertia, but everything has been appropriately beefed-up to handle the output of the enlarged electric motor and 100-volt, 8kWh lithium polymer battery pack. Top speed is listed at just 100 miles per hour, but Brammo believes it's low 360-pound weight and high-spec suspension bits will help the TTR maintain a consistently high average speed over the 37-mile TTXGP time trial. Click here to download a PDF containing a complete list of the TTR's specifications.

Brammo CEO Craig Bramscher tells Wired.com that his company doesn't have plans to sell the race-ready version of the Enertial electric motorcycle at the consumer level, but there's a good chance a sporty, fully-faired version of the bike will be launched within the next six months alongside a less-expensive, detuned version of the standard Enertia. Click past the break for the official press release and be sure to check out our gallery of the Enertia TTR race bike below.

[Source: Brammo]

PRESS RELEASE:

BEST BUY SPONSORS BRAMMO ENERTIA TTXGP RACE TEAM

ASHLAND, Ore., May 28, 2009 -- Brammo, maker of the Enertia plug-in electric motorcycle announced today that Best Buy is an official sponsor and team partner of Brammo's two-bike team that will compete in the Isle of Man TTXGP race. The team will be officially known as Team Brammo Enertia Best Buy Racing.

Founder and CEO of Brammo, Craig Bramscher (Twitter: @brammocraig) said, "Our goal with Team Brammo Enertia Best Buy Racing is to explore future capabilities, technologies and features of the production-based Enertia electric motorcycle and the future of the Brammo product line. Having Best Buy support for our Enertia racing program has really helped Brammo elevate the program and it is awesome to have their involvement."

"Best Buy Racing is thrilled to be part of such an innovative racing endeavor," said Paul Zindrick, senior manager of event marketing at Best Buy. "Our involvement with Brammo and the TTXGP event is a natural extension of our Best Buy Racing initiatives and we will apply our full technical and promotional resources to integrate the Brammo Enertia into Best Buy Racing around the world."

Team Brammo Enertia Best Buy Racing has two bikes entered in the TTXGP. Bike #11 will be ridden by Roy Richardson. "Roy Boy," is a third-generation motorcycle racer and has an impressive history at the TT with numerous silver replica awards and lap records. Bike #26 will be ridden by Edinburgh native, Mark Buckley. Mark has been racing for 15 seasons with numerous top finishes and is also an accomplished journalist.

TTXGP is the first zero emissions motorcycle race on the planet that will take place at the historical Isle of Man TT scheduled for June 12, 2009. Twenty-three teams from around the world are entered in the TTXGP and the event is designed to introduce carbon-free racing to the world. For additional information about the event, visit www.ttxgp.com.

Fans and media can follow Brammo on www.brammo.com, or on Twitter at @BrammoSays. Additional pictures of the Enertia race bikes and fresh video can be found at www.brammo.com.

About Brammo

Brammo (www.brammo.com) is a premier specialty vehicle manufacturer developing sustainable performance products for the next generation of transportation. Through integration of digital engineering and high impact design, Brammo transforms ideas into compelling products. Located in Ashland, Oregon the company was founded in 2002 and is privately held.

About Best Buy Co., Inc.
With operations in the United States, Canada, China, Europe and Mexico, Best Buy is a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services with a commitment to growth and innovation. The Best Buy family of brands and partnerships collectively generates more than $45 billion annual revenue and includes brands such as Best Buy, Audiovisions, The Carphone Warehouse, Future Shop, Geek Squad, Jiangsu Five Star, Magnolia Audio Video, Napster, Pacific Sales Kitchen, Bath and Electronic Centers, The Phone House and Speakeasy. Approximately 155,000 employees apply their talents to help bring the benefits of these brands to life for customers through retail locations, multiple call centers and Web sites, in-home solutions, product delivery and activities in our communities. Community partnership is central to the way we do business at Best Buy. In fiscal 2009, we donated a combined $33.4 million to improve the vitality of the communities where our employees and customers live and work. For more information about Best Buy, visit www.bestbuy.com.