Different teams, different stories, different riding styles: but all of them have in common the absolute novelty of the debut in MotoE on an Italian track. For five riders, the third round of the MotoE World Cup at the Marco Simoncelli circuit in Misano Adriatico will be their home race.
We are talking about Alex De Angelis (OCTO Pramac team MotoE), Niccolò Canepa (LCR E-Team), Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse), Matteo Ferrari, andi, and Lorenzo Savadori (both riders of the Trentino Gresini team MotoE ). We thank them for agreeing to play with us in this "parallel interview".
Here are, in alphabetical order, their answers.
First question: after two races, what is the most positive item?
Alex De Angelis
"I can certainly be satisfied: my last year as a full-time rider was 2016 and returning to battle on the track against those who are still active, among other things in more championships, and beat many of them is certainly cause for pride."
Niccolò Canepa
"I'm mainly satisfied with the progress I've made since the first tests to date. I'm still trying to adapt and learn, but I'll get there!”
Mattia Casadei
"I can say that I am satisfied when I’m fast and I have a good feeling with the bike. I already felt at home in the Valencia tests and this feeling was confirmed in Austria. I struggled a little more at the Sachsenring because of a not exactly perfect setup. They are new bikes and it is not easy to find a solution to the problems right away."
Matteo Ferrari
"At present I'm satisfied because we've improved since the Valencia test. We were competitive there, but we were still missing something, then at Sachsenring we reduced the gap and in Austria even more. Now we can play for the podium and I'm really happy about that. The Gresini team has given me a great chance and is supporting me in the best possible way. The same is doing Michele Pirro."
Lorenzo Savadori
"The first two races were difficult, I hadn't raced at the Sachsenring for ten years and I had never rode on the Red Bull Ring. In Germany I was eighth before Granado threw me out, and in Austria I finished tenth. On both tracks, I was faster in the race than in practice and that's a good thing."
Second question: what are you still not satisfied with?
Alex De Angelis
"I'm a rider and, as such, I'm running to win, so I'm never completely satisfied! I would like to improve a lot, but it seems that we have already managed to make a considerable step forward in just two races, despite I had never raced in my life at the Rd Bull Ring in Austria."
Niccolò Canepa
"I would like to reduce the time to adapt to this bike. Every time I get back on it after riding a petrol bike, I find the MotoE a bit difficult to get used again. The few and short available sessions don't help!"
Mattia Casadei
"I'm not satisfied I haven't gotten a good result yet."
Matteo Ferrari
"I'm not satisfied of the race in Austria because we deserved the podium, but we didn't get it and I’m still upset about it.”
Lorenzo Savadori
“There are very few opportunities to ride the MotoE and my riding style is very different from what the bike requires. I come from the SBK where the riding style is: brake hard, quickly move the bike up and use all the power you can. On the contrary, the MotoE prefers a clean and smooth riding style and it performs well with a smoother braking and a lot of speed over the curve. I'm adapting and together with the team I'm giving 100%, but there is still a gap to the top positions.”
Third question: Misano is the home race: do you feel you have an advantage compared to the other tracks?
Alex De Angelis
"Misano is obviously my home race, but not my favorite. However, I did some great races in the past on this circuit; it is probably because the pressure of the home race is transformed into a charge that gives you and advantage!”
Niccolò Canepa
"I'm happy to race on the Italian circuit. It's always nice to run in front of the Italian public! But I don't think I have any advantage. In MotoE we are almost all experienced riders and we know the tracks in the same way.”
Mattia Casadei
"This is definitely a special race, but we must not lose the concentration. I know the track very well and I will certainly do my best to try to bring home a good result, both for me and for my team."
Matteo Ferrari
"I'm super happy to run at Misano, I live here so it is the super home race. Anyway, I don't feel advantaged because this year I didn't ran on this track, but surely the public and the home feeling will be a push to go faster. It is also true that when expectations are high, it can become more difficult to do well, you need to manage and calibrate everything in the right way.”
Lorenzo Savadori
"Misano is the home race, compared to other races there is even more public and even more people to support you and this pushes you to give even more. We will try to give 100%."
Here the MotoE schedule and timetable of the San Marino GP (link).
