The wait is over; the new era of MotoE characterized by the Ducati V21L begins this weekend with the French GP at Le Mans. In the historic weekend in which the MotoGP will celebrate its 1000th Grand Prix, the MotoE World Championship is ready to write the first chapter of its new era.
This weekend, on the iconic French circuit of Le Mans, there will be the first round of the 2023 season of the MotoE, the first with World Championship status and with the new V21L electric Ducati.
After the pre-season tests in Jerez and Barcelona and the official presentation in Vallelunga, the time has come for the first races for the MotoGP electric class, now in its fifth season. This is the most important edition ever, with the calendar expanding to eight rounds covering every stage of the MotoGP World Championship between May and early September. What begins is the first season with the new official manufacturer of the 18 bikes supplied to the teams: Ducati.
During testing, we saw the lap record fall at both Jerez and Barcelona thanks to one of the MotoE veterans: Eric Granado (LCR E-Team). The Brazilian is one of the most experienced in the category, having participated in all seasons of the MotoE until today. The rider of Lucio Cecchinello's team is at the top of the standings for almost all parameters: he has the most victories, the most poles and the most fastest laps in the race. Unfortunately, he won't start his race towards the elusive title from Le Mans; the only thing his stats are missing. Due to a crash a few days ago in WorldSBK in Barcelona, which saw him excluded from Race 2, the Brazilian rider will not participate in the races of the MotoE of the French GP.
The two-time champion of the MotoE, Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) will surely be another protagonist for the fight for the Championship. In fact, Jorge Martinez's rider has the objective of adding a new title to the two already conquered in MotoE, in 2020 and 2021. Who certainly wants to return to the top step of the MotoE is Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE), winner of the first and historic 2019 edition. Ferrari showed a good pace in the tests and was always very close to Granado. Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) is another veteran of the MotoE: in 2022, he took his first race victory, and this year he is ready to fight for the title. At the start of MotoE 2023 we find two other riders who managed to win a race in the electric category: Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing), almost winner of the 2021 title, and Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) best rookie in the MotoE always in 2021.
There are also some interesting rookies, including Moto2 2014 World Champion Tito Rabat, who returns to the Grand Prix paddock to tackle the MotoE. Randy Krummenacher is another one to keep an eye on: he joins (Dynavolt Intact GP), adding another class to his résumé of experiences in 125cc, Moto2, WorldSSP and WorldSBK, while Luca Salvadori joins the Prettl Pramac team. Nicholas Spinelli also generated a lot of interest in the tests; the Pons Racing 40 rookie was one of those who showed the most consistent pace.
In addition to the riders already mentioned, at the start of the 2023 season we find: Maria Herrera (Openbank Aspar Team), in her fifth year in MotoE, Hector Garzò (Dynavolt Intact GP), Hikari Okubo (Tech3 E-Racing), Alessio Finello (Felo Gresini MotoE), Kevin Manfredi and Kevin Zannoni, both with Sic58 Squadra Corse, and the RNF MotoE team duo composed by Andrea Mantovani and Mika Perez.
In 2023, the race weekend program will also change. There MotoE kicks off on Friday at 8:30 with FP1, before a second session, FP2 at 12:35. The combined times of FP1 and FP2 decide the direct entrants to Q1 and Q2, while qualifying starts at 17:00. Qualifying for Q1 and Q2 can be viewed live and for free on the YouTube channel MotoE, to give everyone a preview of the MotoE.
Saturday becomes the moment of the show for the MotoE World Championship: it's the day of the double race.
Race 1 starts at 12:10, immediately after the qualifying session of the MotoGP class, and is the first race of the weekend. Followed by the qualifying sessions for Moto3 and Moto2 and the Tissot Sprint of MotoGP.
Race 2 follows the MotoGP Sprint Race, with the lights going out for the second race of the weekend set for 16:10. It is a double event that gives the electric world incredible visibility and ensures fans from all over the world the best of this parallel path of sustainable innovation.
The new electric Ducati V21L
For the first time, it will be possible to see the riders of the MotoE 2023 on the track on Ducati's new electric motorcycle, the V21L.
The characteristics of the new bike are very different from the MotoE used in previous seasons. First of all, the weight dropped to 225kg, about 20kg less than last year and almost 40kg less than the MotoE of 2019. This will greatly influence the dynamic behaviour of the bike, also thanks to the rear suspension with a progressive link and to the front fork, which reaches 125mm of displacement, 15mm more than last year, thanks to the particular shape of the battery.
The latter is designed in such a way as to leave sufficient space for the front wheel to move back during the most demanding braking, allowing for complete compression of the fork for a better bike's behaviour during braking and cornering.
Among the technical innovations of the new MotoE, the most important one is certainly the liquid cooling system of the battery. The latter weighs 110kg and has a capacity of 18kWh with an operating voltage of 800V. To maximize output, performance and capacity, a sophisticated cooling system was required to allow the battery to work in its optimal temperature range.
The main advantage of this system is that it controls the battery temperature during track sessions and recharging. This allows avoiding long pauses for cooling the battery between one phase and another and increasing the bike's uptime.
Another important novelty is the absence of the traditional rear brake.
On the Ducati MotoE, the rear brake is no longer mechanical, but 'electric'; the braking action is achieved through the electronic management of the motor. This system has two advantages: saving weight, around 1,6kg, and recovering energy by making the electric motor work like a generator when the rear wheel slows down.
The list of teams and riders of the MotoE World Championship 2023
LCR E-Team (riders: #51 Eric Granado – #77 Miquel Pons) (lcr.mc)
Tech3 E-Racing (riders: #61 Alessandro Zaccone – #78 Hikari Okubo) (tech3racing.frl)
FELO Gresini Racing MotoE (riders: #11 Matteo Ferrari – #72 Alessio Finello) (gresiniracing.com)
Pramac MotoE (riders: #53 Tito Rabat – #23 Luca Salvadori) (pramacracing.com)
Openbank Aspar Team (riders: #81 Jordi Torres – #6 Maria Herrera) (teamaspar.com)
Pons Racing Los 40 (riders: #40 Mattia Casadei – #29 Nicholas Spinelli)
Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse (riders: #21 Kevin Zannoni – #34 Kevin Manfredi) (sic58squadracorse.it)
Dynavolt Intact GP (riders: #3 Randy Krummenacher – #4 Hector Garzò) (intactgp.de)
RNF MotoE team (riders: #19 Andrea Mantovani – #8 Mika Perez)
MotoE World Championship
The calendar of the MotoE 2023
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