MotoE completed half of the 2024 season, completing the fourth round at Mugello. In the two races on the Italian circuit, two home riders won: Kevin Zannoni and Mattia Casadei. The two are now at the top of the MotoE standings, separated by just six points.
The MotoE races at Mugello began with a great scare for Lukas Tulovic, who crashed during the first lap of Race 1. The German rider remained unconscious on the side of the track for a few minutes before being taken to the medical centre and then to the hospital in Florence. Luckily, Tulovic did not suffer any serious consequences from the accident: a small laceration to a lung, a cut to his chin and a fracture to his left hand, as well as obviously a concussion. The Dynavolt IntactGP team rider needs a few weeks of recovery and could get back on his MotoE bike in Assen at the end of June. Relieved by Tulovic's situation, we can analyze some points from the MotoE round in Mugello:
1 – The reigning world champion is back to picking up points after the downturn in Barcelona. Mattia Casadei returned to victory and, also taking a second podium, he brought home 45 points that put him back at the top of the overall standings. In both races, Casadei seemed to be effortlessly racing. Even in the last lap of Race 1, where he recovered and won, Casadei seemed to ride effortlessly. From what we have seen so far, the rider of the LCR team remains the favourite for the final victory.
2 – Kevin Zannoni liked the top step of the podium, and after his first victory in MotoE at Barcelona, the young Italian rider did the encore at Mugello, winning Race 2. The first place in Spain gave Zannoni that step in terms of self-confidence that he still lacked to become a top rider in MotoE. Since the start of the championship, Zannoni has been consistently ahead of his team-mate, Jordi Torres, and is now Casadei's first pursuer in the overall standings.
3 – Alessandro Zaccone is also growing steadily. After his third place in Spain, he was again on the podium at Mugello, this time on the second step. The Tech3 team rider was also the author of the fastest lap in qualifying, thus obtaining his first pole position in MotoE. Zaccone had not been seen at this level since 2021. With this trend of results, it is only a matter of time for the Italian rider to achieve a race victory.
4 – A dull Italian GP for Oscar Gutierrez and Nicholas Spinelli. If for the former, a difficult weekend could be expected due to his lack of knowledge of the Mugello circuit, for the latter, it was more surprising. Spinelli scored a ninth and a tenth place in the two Italian races, a result below expectations, which brings him 44 points behind Casadei.
5 – Mantovani's recovery continues as he was the author of two good comebacks in the Italian GP, finishing fifth and sixth. If we consider that last year at Mugello Mantovani won, the step backwards is remarkable, but if we consider instead the improvement compared to the beginning of the championship, the podium is not so far away.
6 – Ferrari ninth at -71, Torres eleventh at -82. One could hardly have imagined such a difficult 2024 for two former MotoE champions. Torres may have the alibi of three retirements, but the fact remains that for both of them, the gap to Casadei is now large, and the points available between now and the end of the championship are 200.
7 – Hector Garzò must be eating his hands for the double crash at Le Mans. The rider from Valencia has joined Nicholas Spinelli in the standings at -44 points behind Casadei. Without the errors in France, he would have formed a compact trio at the top of the championship, but now he is forced to chase and hope for a mistake by Casadei and Zannoni.
8 – The management of Lukas Tulovic's race accident was very good. Not only in the management of the trauma suffered by the German rider and the immediate interruption of the race. At the sight of the red flag, many people thought that the race would not simply be postponed but that it would be cancelled due to the busy race schedule and the lesser importance of MotoE compared to the other categories. Instead, Race 1 was confirmed and took place only an hour and a half after Race 2. This was also possible due to the technical characteristics of the Ducati V21L, which can be recharged immediately at the end of the session, thanks to the liquid cooling system that keeps the battery temperature at the optimum value both during the race and while charging.
9 – At last, after a few years of green lawns and empty car parks, people are back in great amounts at Mugello. On both Saturday and Sunday, the number of people who attended the Italian GP races recalled that of the Valentino Rossi era. A good sign for a circuit that has been at risk of stepping out of the MotoGP calendar.
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MotoE World Championship
The standings of the MotoE 2024
Photos: MotoGP
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