The MotoE riders' press conference kicks off the 2023 Dutch GP at Assen. After six races, Jordi Torres leads the MotoE standings ahead of Matteo Ferrari and Hector Garzò.
One of the oldest venues in the sport is preparing to welcome one of its most recent innovations. Here are the words of the riders protagonists of MotoE 2023 in the press conference that kicked off the Dutch GP on the historic Assen circuit.
The FIM Enel MotoE World Championship at the Sachsenring reserved many twists: classification leader Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) won the first race due to the crashes of Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) and Hector Garzò (Dynavolt Intact GP), while Garzò redeemed himself in Race 2 taking his first victory in the MotoGP electric class. In view of the two races at the TT Circuit Assen, therefore, there’s plenty to talk about.
MotoE World Championship
The standings of the 2023 championship
Torres is now 18 points ahead, which is a good cushion as the Championship arrives to a venue he knows well. Ferrari is the rider on the chase despite that tougher Race 2 as a difficult qualifying in 10th position compared to the pole obtained in the first two rounds. In the first he took third place, after the penalty of Nicholas Spinelli (HP Pons Los40) following the clash with Garzò, but in the second he obtained "only" a seventh place.
Garzò answered the zero points from Race 1 with a convincing victory, even if the race was stopped early. And Granado? He is the only rider in the race to have already won at Assen in MotoE, in both 2021 and 2022. He now faces a significant gap after his crash in Germany, but with ten races to go, there is plenty of room for recovery.
MotoE World Championship
The TV and streaming schedule of the Dutch GP
Mattia Casadei (HP Pons Los40), meanwhile, remains a constant threat and plenty quick if he can find that consistency. Randy Krummenacher (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) found an excellent rhythm at the Sachsenring, which brought him to the podium in Race 1.
Before taking to the track on Friday morning, some of the riders attended Thursday's press conference of the Dutch GP: the MotoE Championship leader Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team), the challengers Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE) and Hector Garzò (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) and Randy Krummenacher (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE). Here's what they said.
Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team)
“Mugello was difficult because there was a long straight, and maybe because also the track is very difficult. I only really achieved the points for the championship, and this was important. But now we return another time to fight and to battle on the top, and we stay for sure here in Assen which is a great track for us also because there are many turns that we know very well from the past. And yes, we'll see how these races are. For sure, t will be very enjoyable like the Sachsenring races and with many battles. We will see which show we can offer.
Experience in this category is very important because we don't get a lot of time on the track. We get a few laps to learn the braking points and some tips about the track when we're riding. So yes, experience is a big part of it for us. Knowing very well how the electric motorcycle is, how the power feels, the feeling that you need to push and where the limit is. There's many factors that the experience for sure helps us a lot to ride better.
This year we have many rounds, but it's still just like it was in the past. To score 0 points at the end of the race is a very big mistake, and we still have the same objective. Catching points is the main important thing because sometimes you arrive at a track that you don't know very well. You don't have time to be faster or to make a good performance. We are still continuing in this way, catching points and bringing more information to the box so we can still continue our development."
Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE)
“I’m more relaxed compared to the past. A lot during the past the feeling with the bike was ok but with not too much races the points are very important. This year we have 16 races, in my opinion it’s better, we can push more. I’m second because I crashed in Le Mans but we had time to recover. Also the weekend at the Sachsenring wasn’t my best weekend but I achieved points and I’m there so we have time and in my opinion it’s better and we are more relaxed.
For sure in the Sachsenring it’s very difficult to overtake compared to other tracks. We made a mistake in qualifying, the set up wasn’t the best but every time we have to discover the bike. We did this mistake, it’s not a problem as we are in the first part of the season. The goal for both races was to arrive in front, in race one we achieved a podium and in race two the race finished a little bit early unfortunately. When you are fast in all the tracks, it’s a good way to ride this bike and work with this team… Now we have to achieve more points because I think we’re really fast so we have to try to the best qualifying every time to start at the front and do the races like in Le Mans and Mugello.
It’s difficult to say because in Practice I’m always alone so it’s difficult to see the other riders. At the moment yes because I’m fast because I try to ride alone but sometimes it can happen it’s not a problem. During the race in Sachsenring I saw I was really fast during the braking point but when you are not in a good position, it’s difficult to show your potential and speed. It’s a good way to ride this bike but I have to improve this point to overtake the other riders better to be fast when I’m not in front."
Hector Garzò (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE)
“I was a little bit angry after the contact with Spinelli, but I think it’s normal… but for sure I was disappointed because after all the work of the weekend. I try not to fail in any race, always to be there but this is racing. I already apologised to some guys about my attitude and I’ll say it again now, these things happen.
The best response to this situation was have the second race that I had! Try to be as focused as possible because it is easy to lose concentration after this situation . I think we did a good job. I was really clever with my last overtake when the rain started to come. All weekend it was showing little drops and then it was showing harder and harder. I was a little bit lucky that I felt the rain a little bit harder on the last lap and I could end the race. We are doing a good job. As I said, It was really disappointing to end race 1 as we did. 20 points from Jordi, I thought we could have made it up in Race 1 but this is racing. We need to put a stone in that race and not think about and focus on the next races.
I was always excited to be here at Assen because I love this track. This bike normally gives us better results and times than last year, so we’ll see. You never know, it’s a new track for this bike but I think we can continue breaking records. I hope to have anyone for Ferrari… I think we can enjoy the weekend."
Randy Krummenacher (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE)
“Well. It's tough here, these guys are really quick. I made some mistakes. I had to gain some experience. I had to adjust myself on the bike. But Sachsenring, it seemed to be the turning point where it really felt like, wow, I can really push the way I want to. Of course the qualifying there wasn't that good in the rain, and then starting from 1th in such a short race isn't easy. So race one, of course, was really, really positive. In race two at the end, as Jordi said, points are really important so I gained more points. So yeah, we are here, Assen. I've had some great races here in the past and I'm really looking forward to it.
I definitely want to prove that Sachsenring was not just one race. Like I said, Assen I know very well and I just want to be at the front in both races and then continue going ahead in that way.”
Photos: MotoGP
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