Check out a selection of photos and quotes as the new era of the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship begins in France!

This is it! The new era is about to begin as the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship descends on Le Mans, and ahead of the first track action of a historic season, some key protagonists joined us in the pre-event Press Conference. Heading the line-up was Roberto Cané, Ducati’s director of E-Mobility as the Borgo Panigale factory joins the competition as the manufacturer, and he was joined by two experienced riders and two rookies in the competition: 2020 & 2021 Cup winner Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team), 2019 Cup winner Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™), Randy Krummenacher (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) and Luca Salvadori (Prettl Pramac MotoE™).

Here are some key quotes!

ROBERTO CANÉ, DUCATI E-MOBILITY DIRECTOR: “This is a brand new project for Ducati, it’s the very first time that Ducati has produced an electric motorcycle and we decided to produce for the MotoE championship, and that’s a very challenging race. So we started designing the motorcycle, let me say a couple of years ago. Then we did the best we could make because we think that our motorcycle is the best motorcycle now for this kind of competition. We developed this motorcycle to achieve the best result on the track. In fact that we made a lot of tests and private tests and a couple of official tests, one in Jerez and one in Barcelona, and we found that the bike is performing very well. We like it. We had a very good result from that test and now we are here in Le Mans, you know, it’s the very first race and I’m quite excited, to be honest.

“The challenge is incredible because at first, it was the very first time Ducati challenged themselves with this kind of project. So we had to create it, and it was also a purpose of this project to create internal know-how in order to be able to build this kind of motorcycle. So we took advantage of the group experience and of some suppliers that helped us to develop this bike. But at the same time, we are it and we built a little group in internally inside Ducati to design these motorcycles. The idea is to get all the knowledge to be ready in the future to fully design and produce also road bikes.”

What are the biggest things that set the bike apart from petrol bikes?
“I would say that racing for Ducati is some kind of advanced field, area where you design, test, and improve the new technology. So it’s a parallel to MotoGP tests something, and MotoE is meant to test the other stuff. Then I would not say battery, but let me say everything related to the electric mobility has to be tested to be developed and to be designed to reach the goals we have. Because you know, Ducati is not only mobility, but it’s also passion, its performance, it’s style, you know? So we have to design the bike, I mean also the road bike, in order to reach the targets that Ducati has.”

JORDI TORRES: “At the moment, I feel very well and I think this Ducati bike is easy to ride. This new season is a very big challenge, all the riders want to be on top, want to beat everybody because the bike has really good performance. Everyone knows the potential of the bike. But we need to see where the limit is, because I think in the tests, no one has found the limit of the bike in terms of the brakes, lean angle, corner speed. The potential is very high and getting there is difficult, but everybody can have good pace. In the first two races everyone wants to be fast, and for sure we’ll put on a show with many overtakes. We’ll see what happens but for sure it’s a fun category.

“I think the timetable is good for the rhythm of the category. At the moment we don’t do many laps, the bike works well and the tyres work well… it depends on the weather but for sure having two races on Saturday is challenging but we’ll get a lot of information to innovate in Race 2.”

MATTEO FERRARI: “I’m really happy to be here, it’s a new challenge because there’s a new bike, it’s GP 1000… I’m excited! The tests were good, also in the wet because it was difficult weather in Jerez, but the bike worked well and us too, we worked a lot on the bike. We understand the setup and we improved the laptime a lot compared to last year. So I’m really happy about that! Unfortunately I couldn’t do the simulation race but we did a good laptime and the pace in Barcelona was good. So, ready to start in Le Mans!

“I’m happy about the timetable. On Saturday or Sunday you only had races so it’s hard to arrive early in the morning and wait for the race, and only a few laps. And you have to be ready from the first laps! I think the second race will be really nice for all the riders. We won’t have too much time to work on the data but it’s a new format and I think it will be good for the riders.”

RANDY KRUMMENACHER: “I’m really looking forward to this race! We’ve been waiting a long time. MotoE is really exciting with the Ducati, as Jordi said, the limit is so high and we’re still searching for it. It’s exciting, such a great feeling to ride it, a lot of fun. So I’m just looking forward to racing.

“The timetable will be a new challenge for everyone but also races between 8 and 10 laps is new for me! I thought it would be physically easier, but the laps are so on the limit that in the end it’s the same! Everyone pushes so hard. But I like to do something new so I’m really motivated.”

LUCA SALVADORI: “All the guys said everything! The Ducati bike is incredible, I arrive from the Italian Championship on a V4 Panigale and it’s a bit difficult to jump to an electric bike, and for me it’s my first time at this level. I’ve been in the Italian Championship for a lot of time, but I’m really excited for this opportunity and ready to start racing with the other guys.

“With my height and weight it might be a little difficult for me, but I think the races are something else! So we can make a good step, and for me a top ten is a good result for a rookie.”

Following a crash in Race 1 of the Catalan round of WorldSBK, Eric Granado won’t be out on track for the LCR E-Team this weekend at Le Mans. The Brazilian broke the lap record in both MotoE™ tests this season so far and tops the table in the Championship by nearly every metric, so he will be one to watch when he (hopefully – watch this space!) returns to action next time out for the triple-header. Speedy recovery, Eric!

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