After pre-season testing, the official presentation and a few more weeks raring to get racing, the 2023 FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship is now nearly underway! It’s the biggest season ever as the electric competition gains World Championship status and the calendar expands to eight rounds, racing at every MotoGP™ stop between May and early September. That makes a 16-race, eight-round, action-packed MotoE™ season – and it’s the first with new official manufacturer Ducati.
Powered by Enel X Way, the season opener takes place at Le Mans this weekend, and what better place to begin writing a new chapter of racing history than at the 1000th Grand Prix? The stage is set, the new MotoE™ timetable is ready to showcase the best of the electric series, and the grid is primed to give their all in search of that first ever MotoE™ Championship crown.
NEW CHALLENGES
In testing, we saw the Jerez and Barcelona lap record fall thanks to long-time MotoE™ campaigner Eric Granado (LCR E-Team). The Brazilian is one of the most experienced in the field, having competed in every season of MotoE™ to date, and tops the table by nearly every metric: he has the most wins, the most poles and the most race fastest laps. He’ll want to come out swinging in Round 1 to add to that – and begin his tilt for that elusive title, the one thing missing from his stats. He does arrive from a crash in WorldSBK in Barcelona though that saw him sidelined from Race 2, and he’ll be hoping that doesn’t also affect the start of his electric campaign.
Two-time Cup winner Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) will want to prevent Granado adding that title to his resume as the number 81 looks to add a Championship to his Cup successes, and the first to take the MotoE™ glory in 2019, Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™), will want more after having also shown some good pace in testing. Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) is another more veteran winner on the grid looking for trophies, and previous race winners Alessandro Zaccone (Tech3 E-Racing) and Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) will want to get back on top too.
We’ve also got some interesting rookies, including 2014 Moto2™ World Champion Tito Rabat as he returns to the Grand Prix paddock to take on MotoE™. Randy Krummenacher is another to watch as he joins Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™, adding another class to his CV of 125cc, Moto2™, WorldSSP and WorldSBK experience, and Luca Salvadori lands at Prettl Pramac MotoE™. Nicolas Spinelli raised some eyebrows in testing too, with the new Pons Racing 40 rider one of those who showed most consistent pace. As it’s new Ducati machinery for everyone, the new faces on the grid will be an even more interesting watch as the season gets underway.
NEW SCHEDULE
The timetable also changes in 2023. MotoE™ kicks off the action at 8:30am on Fridays with Practice 1, before a second Practice session at 12:35pm. The P1+P2 times are combined to decide the direct entrants to Q1 and Q2, with qualifying beginning at 17:00. Q1 and Q2 qualifying remain live and free to watch on YouTube, giving everyone a taste of the electric action!
Saturday is now the showstopper for the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship. It’s race day – and nothing else! The two showdowns now both take place on Saturday afternoon, making it a true spectacle for fans at the track and viewers at home.
Race 1 kicks off the competition at 12:10 – right after qualifying for the MotoGP™ class – and it’s the first racing action of the weekend. Then there’s qualifying for Moto3™ and Moto2™ before the high-octane addition of the Tissot Sprint every Saturday.
After that, MotoE™ serves up even more racing on super Saturday: Race 2 follows the Sprint, with lights out for the second showdown of the weekend set for 16:10. That’s an action-packed event for MotoE™, giving the electric World Championship some incredible visibility and ensuring fans around the world get the best of this parallel path of sustainable innovation.
Make sure to tune in for the biggest MotoE™ season yet, starting this weekend at Le Mans!
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