Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) has moved into the lead of the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup after a thrilling victory in Race 2 at the SHARK Grand Prix de France. The fight for line honours went all the way down to the eighth and final lap at Le Mans, when Aegerter passed Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) for the lead. Joining them on the podium in a career-first was Niccolo Canepa (WithU GRT RNF MotoE™ Team), after he beat Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) to the line by 0.008 seconds.

Casadei had taken the spoils in Race 1 on the afternoon prior at Le Mans and, from pole position, he took up the early lead in Race 2. Aegerter slotted into fourth spot when he lost two positions off the start, bot got both of them back with passes of Hikaro Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE™) and then Zannoni at Turn 3 on Laps 2 and 3 respectively. It meant he was released to go after Casadei, and could start chipping away at the Italian’s one-second margin.

After about half a dozen laps, Aegerter had caught up. Then, as they started the final tour, he went for the pass at his preferred spot, executing a brilliant overtake into Turn 3 to snatch the lead. Casadei tried to respond but ultimately took the chequered flag 0.567 seconds in arrears.

While the contest for victory was only settled late in the race, the final podium position was not even locked in until right at the finish line. In the early stages, it was pre-race World Cup leader Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) who was on a charge, dropping as low as eighth on Lap 1 but getting into the top five when he passed Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) at the start of Lap 4. On Lap 5, he used a cutback to overtake Okubo for fourth spot as they accelerated off Garage Vert (Turn 8), but then the Brazilian found himself under threat.

Canepa took advantage of Okubo’s attempt to immediately hit back with a pass of the Japanese rider at Chemin aux Boeufs (Turn 9) and that set up a vigorous duel with Granado, who had to be careful due to a track limits warning. Nevertheless, they continued to chop and change positions until Canepa made a decisive move on Lap 7, but that was bad news for Zannoni. The SIC58 rider could not hold out his fellow Italian, losing a drag to the finish line by eight thousandths of a second.

Granado, Okubo, and Ferrari crossed the line just behind in fifth through seventh, with Hector Garzo (Tech3 E-Racing) eighth. Xavi Fores (Octo Pramac MotoE™) and Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) were ninth at the 10th chequered flag but copped three-second penalties for a shortcut and failure to comply with a long lap penalty respectively. That meant the official top 10 was rounded out by Marc Alcoba (Openbank Aspar Team) and Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team).

Jordi Torres did not start the race after sustaining a broken left fibula when he crashed and was struck by two other riders on the opening lap of Race 1, but was in good spirits as he stayed at Le Mans to cheer on Pons Racing 40 team-mate Casadei.

Granado might have won both races when the season began in Jerez, but Aegerter’s first MotoE™ win since 2020 has helped him go to top of the World Cup standings with an eight-point margin over the Brazilian. Casadei, who matched Aegerter’s 45 points for the Le Mans weekend, is nine points further behind in third.

The FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup is back again in just a fortnight from now, when the Gran Premio d’Italia Oakley is held at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello.

MotoE™ Race 2 Top 5:

1. Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE)
2. Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) + 0.567
3. Niccolo Canepa (Withu GRT RNF MotoE Team) + 1.688
4. Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadracorse) + 1.696
5. Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) + 1.831