I don't think anyone will be able to race last year's bike or battery pack and be seriously competitive. That means big $$ (likely $15-30k just for the battery, absent battery manufacture sponsorships), and a good incentive to offer a 7.5 kwh class to lower development costs.
I totally agree. One thing that the Brammo people where unhappy about (understandably, of course) was the move from last year's 11 laps to this year's 8 laps. It's pretty clear that Brammo would have been on the podium with even one more lap, given Lightning's inability to make it through the cool down. So, why was the race shortened this year? Remember that last year, it was exclusively an FIM event and TTXGP was not involved. This year, because it was a joint event, it had to include the TTX75 class and they would not have been able to complete 11 laps. You can't have a race combining these two classes and divide it by saying, for example, "you bikes go 11 laps and these bikes only have to go 8 laps." It just wouldn't work. So, until we get enough bikes of each class to justify two separate races, it's going to be shortened to allow the 75 bikes to finish.
Interesting, to say the least, how this has affected the Brammo team. I was really hoping they'd make the podium this year. They changed the gearing on the bike each day - never had the same rear sprocket on it from practice to qualifying to race. This is going to take more than a gearing change. To beat MotoCzysz and Lightning it is going to take a different motor and controller combination. Mission, as it stands, is untouchable. They may be the team to beat, but the victory over them will not come this year.
The question has been raised about where Mission will go from here. With such a decisive victory will the bike be put to pasture as the ultimate marketing tool? Or will they bring it to the final TTXGP round (to be announced in a matter of days) to clinch the North American championship title, and then over to Europe (or Asia perhaps?) to the TTXGP World Championship to win that title? I asked the Mission folks and they couldn't/wouldn't give me a straight answer. Understandable. We'll just have to wait and see.
I am going to write up a post (or posts) for Brammofan.com with the story of the weekend that will include all of this stuff and more.