The 2024 season of MotoE kicks off this weekend with the Portuguese GP in Portimao. In the first of the two races at the Autodromo do Algarve, Nicholas Spinelli prevailed, thus giving the Tech2024 E-Racing team the first victory of 3.
Race 1 of the MotoE in Portimao – This weekend, the MotoE faces the Portuguese GP, the first round of the 2024 season of the electric MotoGP category, the sixth since its debut and the second with World Championship status.
Thanks to the pole position achieved on Friday, Eric Granado starts at the head of the group. Together with the Brazilian rider, in the front row there are Nicholas Spinelli (Tech3 E-Racing) and the reigning world champion, Mattia Casadei (LCR E-Team).
At the start, Hector Garzò (Dynavolt Intact GP) is the fastest and arrives first at turn 1, followed by Spinelli and Casadei, while Granado is fourth. During the first lap, Garzò, Spinelli and Casadei alternate in the lead, while Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing) climbs up to fifth place, followed by Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar), sixth. Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE), who started from the fourth row, is instead further back, in twelfth position.
At the first lap, thanks to the slipstream of the long Portimao straight, Eric Granado returns to the race's lead, followed by Casadei, Garzò, Spinelli and Zaccone. Granado immediately tries to force the pace and gain a small advantage over his pursuers but exceeds the limit of his bike, falling at turn 14. The Brazilian from the LCR team is thus forced to retire.
The leading group thus becomes composed of five riders: Casadei, Spinelli, Garzò, Zaccone and Torres. Granado's fall is not the only one involving one of the favourites. Four laps from the end, Matteo Ferrari crashed at turn 1, after his teammate, Alessio Finello, had also crashed on the previous lap. Both riders of the Felo Gresini MotoE team resume the race at the back of the group.
With three laps to go, we see the best overtaking of the race, with Casadei and Garzo arriving paired at the braking of turn 1, but Spinelli forces the brakes and goes to the outside, taking the race's lead. Behind them, Torres also attacks and overtakes Zaccone, moving into fourth position. At turn 5, Zaccone, perhaps in an attempt to regain the lost position, set the braking incorrectly and hit Torres' bike. Both riders crash and are forced to retire. Thus, only Spinelli, Garzò and Casadei remain leading the race, while both riders of the Axxis-Msi team crash behind them: Oscar Gutierrez and Miquel Pons.
The final lap begins with Spinelli in the lead, followed by Garzò and Casadei. Garzò is very close to Spinelli but cannot attack him due to the yellow flags displayed in the first part of the track. In the final corners Garzò looks for a gap to pass the Tech3 E-Racing driver, but the latter is very good at closing all the gaps and launching himself with good speed on the final straight. Garzò follows Spinelli but is unable to overtake him before the checkered flag. Nicholas Spinelli thus wins the first race of the MotoE 2024 and his second career race. Second victory in MotoE also for the Tech3 E-Racing team after the 2021 Austrian GP won by Lukas Tulovic. The German driver of the Dynavolt Intact GP team was fourth at the finish line ahead of Kevin Zannoni (Openbank Aspar Team), Massimo Roccoli (Sic58 Squadra Corse), Andrea Mantovani (Klint Forward Racing) and Kevin Manfredi (Sic58 Squadra Corse). The two drivers of the Aruba Cloud team close the Top 10 MotoE: Chaz Davies and Armando Pontone.
The results of Race 1 of the 2024 MotoE Portuguese GP in Portimao
| POS. | N. | Nat. | Rider | Team | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 29 |  |
Nicholas Spinelli | Tech3 E-Racing | 12'32.726 | |
| 2 | 4 |  |
Hector Garzo | Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™ | 12'32.874 | 0,148 |
| 3 | 40 | |
Mattia Casadei | LCR E-Team | 12'32.978 | 0,252 |
| 4 | 3 |  |
Lukas Tulovic | Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™ | 12'36.129 | 3,403 |
| 5 | 21 | |
Kevin Zannoni | Openbank Aspar Team | 12'37.876 | 5,150 |
| 6 | 55 | |
Massimo Roccoli | Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse | 12'38.858 | 6,132 |
| 7 | 9 | |
Andrea Mantovani | Klint Forward Factory Team | 12'40.505 | 7,779 |
| 8 | 34 | |
Kevin Manfredi | Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse | 12'48.505 | 15,779 |
| 9 | 7 |  |
Chaz Davies | Aruba Cloud MotoE™ Racing Team | 12'48.563 | 15,837 |
| 10 | 80 | |
Armando Pontone | Aruba Cloud MotoE™ Racing Team | 12'49.003 | 16,277 |
| 11 | 6 | |
Maria Herrera | Klint Forward Factory Team | 12'57.321 | 24,595 |
| 12 | 11 | |
Matteo Ferrari | Felo Gresini MotoE™ | 13'57.496 | 1,000 |
| 13 | 72 | |
Alessio Finello | Felo Gresini MotoE™ | 14'07.202 | 1,000 |
| 14 | 77 | |
Miquel Pons | Axxis-MSI | nc | 0,000 |
| 15 | 81 | |
Jordi Torres | Openbank Aspar Team | nc | 0,000 |
| 16 | 61 | |
Alessandro Zaccone | Tech3 E-Racing | nc | 0,000 |
| 17 | 99 | |
Oscar Gutierrez | Axxis-MSI | nc | 0,000 |
| 18 | 51 |  |
Eric Granado | LCR E-Team | nc | 0,000 |
MotoE World Championship
The standings of the MotoE 2024
MotoE World Championship
The essential kit of the MotoE 2024
Photos: MotoGP
News and insights on Epaddock
Epaddock will follow the Portuguese GP of MotoE, proposing the results of all the sessions, the pilots' statements, technical focus and insights, as well as a dedicated photo gallery.
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