Andrea Mantovani and Mika Perez have completed their first roll-out of the MotoE 2023 in Jerez de la Frontera. For the first time, the Italian and Spanish riders took the new Ducati V21L to the track.
Andrea Mantovani and Mika Perez took the to the track for the first time the Ducati MotoE of the RNF team. A rainy Monday, a mixed Tuesday and an overcast Wednesday were the three days that welcomed the FIM Enel MotoE world championship to the track in Jerez. Under these conditions, the RNF MotoE team tried to use the time available to test and try their new Ducati V21L. The new team riders, Andrea Mantovani and Mika Perez have started to discover the new MotoE to prepare for the eight rounds of this year's World Championship.
Mantovani, fresh from the World Supersport round in Indonesia, missed the first day but arrived on Tuesday in excellent form to take on the internal leadership of the team. The Italian covered a total of 43 laps between Tuesday and Wednesday, during which he managed to improve on his time during Tuesday's sessions, using Wednesday to test various things, finishing the first official test of the season in P15.
Meanwhile Perez, who is returning to competition, was able to take advantage of all three days in different conditions and gradually gained confidence with his Ducati MotoE. The young Spaniard finished the Jerez tests in P16 with a personal best time of 1:49.737 on Tuesday afternoon. The 23-year-old completed 61 laps over the three days at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto.
The RNF team together with the other teams of the MotoE 2023 will be back in action from 3 to 5 April at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to further refine their bikes in view of the first round of the FIM Enel MotoE World Championship in Le Mans France, from 12 to 13 May.
Andrea Mantovani (RNF MotoE team 2023 rider)
“The test was good although the weather conditions have been very difficult with a mixture of rain and dry track all day every day. I crashed on the first day on track, I was pushing for the laps and went into a water patch. I didn't manage to work a lot to improve on the bike, but by first impression of the Ducati MotoE bike is fantastic! I thank Ramon and the entire team for their hard work and I am very happy. I hope the weather will be better in Barcelona for me to try to go faster and adapt further to the bike."
Mika Perez (RNF MotoE team 2023 rider)
“It was a positive test for us. We couldn't work on the full setting and feeling on the bike due to the wet track conditions all day, hence we could not try the bike in a dry session. We did a couple of laps and got used to the bike and the feeling is good. In the wet, we were always in Top 10 and I'm happy with that. Of course, we have to work on the dry setting in Barcelona, the conditions will be different and I am looking forward to it.”
Razlan Razali (Team Principal RNF Racing Ltd.)
“Well the test for the last three days for our riders Andrea Mantovani and Mika Perez was positive. Though the weather was not too kind but I think we did quite well in terms of testing the new MotoE team. We are very happy with Mika's performance and also with Andrea who just returned from Mandalika and missed the first day. It is still too early to call for any expectations, it's just a matter of getting familiar with the MotoE machine and for the newly assembled team led by Team Manager, Ramon Forcada to work well together for the first time. It's a different structure for us this year, the team is new, everybody is working together and all the materials are new. So it's a good sign that everything is working well and we look forward to the next test.”
Ramón Forcada (RNF MotoE Team Manager)
“The test has been quite interesting just a bit weird with the weather, it was not fully wet yet not fully dry either. It was a bit difficult to gather more information but the team has been working well with the bike and we feel we can get a good result for the riders. It was the first time for Mika Perez to ride in MotoE, he needs to learn a lot of things in managing the bike but he is improving, and just a pity on the weather. Andrea who is more experienced had to miss the first day and it was tight for him. He had a small crash on the first day but it's okay, we will aim to keep improving in Barcelona."
MotoE World Championship
The calendar of the MotoE 2023
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