MotoE World Cup 2021
Mauro Sanchini: my opinion on MotoE 2021 - part 1
The MotoE class is more competitive now, has it changed the riding style compared to the first year?
“Then, from a show and technical point of view, the riding improved a lot, and there was a significant evolution. First, the riders were probably not used to riding such a heavy vehicle, without gearboxes, which reacted differently to the brakes and had an electric motor brake.
For its part, Michelin did a good job because they also brought new material that worked well on the bikes. Energica has worked well on the chassis because it seems that an important step forward has been made on it, especially the fork. Overall I saw a much more spectacular and different riding style. In the beginning, you had to be very clean, very smooth, never exaggerate in braking to have a lot of speed in the corners and at the exit; it was a bike that didn't allow you so many mistake when entering corners”.
"Now it seems to me that the best riding style has moved completely on the opposite side, you can exaggerate a little more in braking, the riders go sideways more and more, there are those who have learned how to use this electric motor brake at its best. Now the riders can control the bike better and brake inside the corners; therefore, the fork has also been improved in the right direction. The riders are now able to pull the bike more with their body to bring it to the apex; this can be clearly seen with Aegerter, who moves his body a lot.
If we analyze the last two races, those of Misano, there are some points where Aegerter does not have the perfect trajectory, but in any case, pulling the bike with his body, moving his head on the inside and turning with the throttle, he took the bike where he wanted. So, all in all, it also forced the bike to obey what he wanted to do, which is why I say that we went in a completely different direction from the one that was the debut. Here, in my opinion, Energica's bike has become much more spectacular and much more Grand Prix bikes both when looking at it on the track and from the outside”.
“The evolution was also seen in the performance of various races; while in the first year there was a wider gap between, this year we had some races with very close riders like Moto3. I also saw a different use of the slipstream. Probably the level of the riders has also levelled up and has also levelled the performance of the bikes.
In the first race, I was going to see at the braking corner of turn six in Jerez, the hairpin that is down at the end of the straight, and wow, they braked very differently from what we saw the first time.
They braked much harder with a lot of help from the electric motor brake and by using the tire and forks differently. For riders like Ferrari with very clean braking, their style this year was no longer paying. We have seen a very positive evolution from both a performance and technical point of view on the track”.
What does this category need to move forward and attract more audiences?
"Huh? Good question. Usually, I have always seen that what has always worked in the various championships to attract people are always two factors, either the bike or the rider, because in the end that's how the races are made.
So for the bike, if you think of the years of the 500 or the MotoGP, the mechanism works when there is a battle between various brands such as Yamaha, Ducati, Aprilia, Suzuki, etc. In Superbike, for example, it had been the winning weapon of the Superbike of the golden age as it offered fans the challenge with the bikes they used to go on the road. There was the Kawasaki fan, the Ducati fan; you liked a brand, followed it for years since you were a boy, engaged with it, and wanted to see it win. Or there are the riders: Capirossi, Biaggi, Valentino. The fans at home need one thing or the other one”.
"Here in MotoE, we find ourselves with a single-manufacturer championship, so there is no challenge between the bikes. In my opinion, the riders should become even more important, with more young people who want to show off and others who already have a name and want to re-boost themselves. That, combined with some name perhaps a little more famous. That, in my opinion, is the right mix. Besides this, I don't see much else that can be done because the number of laps is the same, there will be two races, one on Saturday and one on Sunday; I do not see anything else. But, I mean, if the level of the riders goes up as it has been this year, the Championship is fun. Those who saw the races stayed to watch them until the end and said, 'nice race, I enjoyed it'."
Here, however, you touch a critical point because watching the MotoE is difficult. Not in Italy, where Sky Motor broadcasts both qualifying and races live, but this is not the case in other countries. In England, for example, BT Sport, which broadcasts MotoGP, has decided not to do the same with MotoE.
“Ah, when you lose the hook with the television, it's over. If you don't have a way to see an event, it will never catch on. Because then everything is going to be more complex and you also other media on it and if you stay in a niche, then you don't leave it.
But it is a more general speech; I give you an example: on Monday morning, after the Misano GP, I was very sad, but really sad when I saw a sports newspaper. So, on Sunday, we had won: the MotoGP with Ducati and an Italian rider in Misano, in Italy, which by itself would be enough, we had won the European volleyball championships and the gold medal in the time trial race at the cycling world championships with Ganna.
So, I thought I'd find a beautiful front page, with all the Italian flag, with all these world-winning athletes, right? Well, nothing, just soccer: Italian league, results, standings, the usual things. Okay, soccer is a beautiful sport, let's follow it as well, but it's not all. All the other sports from the middle of the newspaper on. So it's tough.
Without adequate media promotion, especially television, it isn't easy to grow. It is a whole cycle which then also affects the attractiveness towards sponsors”.
MotoE World Cup 2022
MotoGP and Sky extend their partnership in Italy
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