Eighteen riders from all over the world are preparing to fight for the title of the MotoE World Cup 2021. In Jerez de la Frontera, the final test will take place from April 12th to 14th before the debut race on May 2nd.
Fim Enel MotoE World Cup is the new electric class of the MotoGP Championship; an additional motorcycle category compared to the already established MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 classes. The competition kicked off for the first time in 2019, on July 7th, at the German GP. This year, the MotoGP electric class riders compete in 7 races on 6 European circuits. The first stage is on the Jerez de la Frontera track with a race on May 2nd. The conclusion of the MotoE 2021 is in Italy, in Misano, for a double race on 18 and 19 September, for the SanMarinoGP. The dates are the same in which the races of the other classes of the world championship take place (MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3). (Here the MotoE 2021 calendar )
On Friday there are two free practice sessions, on Saturday the third free session and qualifying in superpole style, while on Sunday the race is scheduled between the MotoGP warm-up and the Moto3 race. The last stage is an exception in which two races are held, one on Saturday and one on Sunday. (Here the data of the circuits of the MotoE 2021)
The winner of the 2020 edition Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) is part of the eighteen riders who will compete in the third season of the MotoE World Cup. The winner of the 2019 edition will also be present as well as runner-up in 2020 Matteo Ferrari (Gresini MotoE), and last year's third overall Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP). There are also some interesting movements of experienced riders to record, such as Eric Granado who moves to the One Energy Racing team to aim for the title of the category and Alessandro Zaccone who will be in the Octo Pramac team this year MotoE.
Confirmed in the grid of the MotoE, Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse), Lukas Tulovic (Tech3 E-Racing), Maria Herrera (Openbank Aspar Team) and Xavier Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing).
Among the rookies we point out Yonni Hernandez who returns to the Pramac team with whom he raced in MotoGP, and Hikari Okubo, Japanese, first Asian rider in the electric class (Avant Ajo MotoE team).
Miquel Pons and Kevin Zannoni are the LCR E-Team riders, Fermin Aldeguer is Maria Herrera's teammate at the Openbank Aspar, Andrea Mantovani is Ferrari's partner in the Gresini MotoE team, Corentin Perolari joins Tulovic at the Tech3 E-Team while the Portuguese rider Andre Pires is the Avintia Esponsorama Racing teammate of Cardelus.
Last season's winner Pons Racing 40 team will line-up two Energica Ego Corsa this year; Jordi Torres' teammate is Dutchman Jasper Iwema.
A month ago, the first three days of testing took place at the Angél Nieto circuit in Jerez; here the feedback by Nicolas Goubert, Executive Director of MotoE World Cup.
Regarding the tyres, Goubert explained that in the first test a new front tyre and two different options for the rear with asymmetrical compounds were tested. The riders promoted the front tyre with a compound made with a higher percentage of recycled and eco-sustainable materials. The solutions for the rear also liked; Michelin will then decide based on test data which option to use for the rest of the season.
At present, it is difficult to say after just one test what the gain in lap time could be with the new tyres, it could theoretically be two or three tenths. It is difficult to make an exact comparison because last year the race was in July with completely different temperatures. This test will likely give some more indication of the level of performance.
Goubert added that the tyres will also have a quicker warm-up. Dorna had asked Michelin to take care of this aspect from the beginning, because it is extremely important in such short races in which the riders want to attack from the first corner. Even in the Epole, you need tyres that are at top performance right from the start. The ability of the tyre to warm up is difficult to measure, often you need to rely on the sensitivity of the riders. Jerez is not the best track to test this capability due to its layout and the type of asphalt; the real test will be on tracks where it is usually colder, like Le Mans.
Technology
The Michelin Slick MotoE tyres 2021
Regarding the suspensions, this year the riders will be able to choose whether to use the new cartridges or keep those from last year. In the first test almost all the riders used the new version. At each race, the riders can choose at any time which components to use, whether the previous ones or the new ones. (Here are the features of the new Öhlins forks)
On the battery front, a dry ice cooling system was tested. Last year battery cooling in Jerez was critical so Dorna asked Energica to further develop the system. A coolbox with dry ice inside has been proposed, to cool the air before it is conveyed by a fan inside the battery. Goubert explained that some first tests have been made but it is necessary to understand well what is the best time to use them in order to give clear indications to the teams.
For the charging stations, new generation ones with an integrated 50kWh battery will be used this year. This 'buffer' battery is constantly recharged from the circuit's electrical network and then it quickly transfers the energy to the motorcycle battery during rapid recharging (from 20 to 30 minutes). In addition to the fixed charging station, a Mobile Unit has also been designed. The Mobile Unit is used to recharge the batteriy of the bike on the starting grid after the sighting lap, allowing to have the energy necessary to extend the range of the bike by one lap and consequently, the race distance.
As explained by Goubert, the mobile chargers in the first test were not the final release, there was still something to be done on the configuration of the interface, but in this second test they will be in the final version. Before bringing a new item to the grid on a race weekend, Dorna wants to make sure everything works perfectly. When the team technician connects the mobile unit to the bike, the connection must establish itself in seconds without the need to retry or ask for external support.
One thing pointed out by Goubert is that the solar panels mounted on the charging stations will be able to provide the energy to recharge three bikes over the entire race weekend (16% of the total energy needed for each round). The balance will come from the circuit's electrical grid.
Championship
The calendar of the MotoE World Cup 2021
The bike available to the riders is the Ego Corsa (this is the technical sheet), produced by Energica Motor Company, an Italian company that has been selected as a sole supplier for four years.
EnelX is the championship's main sponsor and the supplier of the mobile charging systems for the motorbikes. In addition to EnelX, the other championship partners are DHL, Michelin and Allianz. You can discover the other technical partners , promising.
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