MotoE Official Jerez Test
2019 FIM Enel MotoE World Cup winner Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) kicked off 2020 by topping the first Official Test in Jerez, setting a best lap of 1:47.494 on the final day to head the combined timesheets.
Matteo Ferrari – P1
“It was a good test. We made a big step forward set-up wise and there’s still some changes to make to understand if the direction we’re taking is the right one – and there’s no better situation to do so than during testing. It wasn’t easy, especially as we did not have the telemetry engineer with us since day two. We made an effort to fill his absence: from my side to make myself clear and from the team to make the changes we needed. I set some good lap-times which came quite naturally, so this surely is a good sign.”
Matteo Ferrari
Eric Granado’s (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) 1:47.546 on Day 2 placed the Brazilian a close second, with MotoE rookie Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) impressing to finish third overall in his first event on the Energica Ego Corsa.
Dominique Aegerter – P3
“For me, of course, this is a new challenge and the motorcycle is completely different from anything I’ve ridden so far. I am happy to have such a good team on my side. Ultimately, the motorcycle has a little less power than I thought. Riding is a bit difficult because at the exit of the corners you can open the throttle quite early, which is not possible with a gasoline motorcycle. Of course, you can feel the 260kg weight especially when braking, but less in the corners, which is good. I was able to improve well over the three days. We had a good test plan, even if you can’t do too much with this production motorcycle. But we worked on the translation, the chassis and the seating position. In the end, I was able to set solid times. At the moment we can do 7-9 full laps with the e-bike, where we actually have the full power available. As a result, you can only really ride eight laps three times a day. The first two days I had problems adjusting because as I said, it is a completely different riding experienc. We as a team are super happy to end the three test days with a positive feeling and a good lap time.”
Dominique Aegerter
At the end of the three days in Andalucia, the top eight were covered by just eight tenths and only 1.2 seconds split the top 14 as MotoE got off to a competitive start in 2020.
2019 Cup runner-up Bradley Smith (WithU Motorsport) was fourth fastest at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto, the British rider sitting 0.379 off Ferrari’s pace.
Bradley Smith – P4
“Overall, I’m very happy after these three days in Jerez. We are back to the same level where we left off last season. The bike is exactly the same as the one from 2019, although we had to focus on understanding the completely new profile of the rear tyre, with a different shape, casing and compound. Due to this, we had to re-test aspects that we had already looked at during the past year. We also tried some other very important elements of the setup that we didn’t have time to test during the race weekend last year. For the upcoming test we will focus mainly on improving our pace over a single lap. I’m satisfied with our fourth position and the time that I set. The level is very high again this season, so we have to keep improving.”
Bradley Smith
Five riders managed to dip into the 1:47s and the last of those was Octo Pramac MotoE’s Alex De Angelis, the Sammarinese rider ending the test 0.450 from the top.
Alex De Angelis – P5
“I’m happy with today, and very satisfied with the test. Today I did my best lap time and we improved also the pace thanks to a good set-up. I want to thank my team for staying here with me in this particular moment, and hopefully we can get back to normal as soon as possible.”
Alex De Angelis
Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) was sixth fastest, he and fellow sophomore Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) heading eighth place Niki Tuuli (Avant Ajo MotoE) as the Finn continues to recover from recent surgery to remove screws put in after his injury last year.
Xavier Simeon – P6
“Today has been a positive day. We made some improvements compared to yesterday, but not as big as we were hoping for. I think we finish 6th in the overall classification, which is not bad, but I was expecting a little bit more. We are not far in lap time, we closed the gap to the guy before, but we did not make the improvement I was expecting. Anyway, this is only the first test, and we can be satisfied with how things went. I hope we can make the next test, we’ll see what happens with the coronavirus situation.”
Xavier Simeon
Octo Pramac MotoE’s Josh Hook and rookie Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) completed the top 10 as 2020 sparked to life.
Josh Hook – P9
“Three very positive days, we got a lot of useful information. The weather allowed us to do many laps on the track and giving us the opportunity to understand much more than last year. The pace is definitely good, we just have to try to find some more power, but overall, I am very satisfied with how these days went and how we worked.”
Josh Hook
Niccolò Canepa just missed out on a top-10 finish, landing in 11th position overall.
Niccolò Canepa – P11
“We’ve just finished the 3rd session of testing here in Jerez. I am satisfied with the work that we did, and the things we found in the bike to improve. Unfortunately, I couldn’t improve my lap time at the end, because I found some slower riders while I was pushing with the battery fully charged. Except the first two sessions, where there was a big difference, the results are very close, so it is positive feeling for the next test. I can’t wait to have the new tyres. There was only one front tyre that we could use but its a big step for me, for my riding style. The good news is that we will have these tyres for everyone starting from the next test. I am very happy about that. I think with these tyres I can improve quite a lot. I am confident. Now, I’ll try to go back home, stay safe and wait for the next test.”
Niccolò Canepa
Alejandro Medina finished twelfth this first pre-season test, just 1.1 seconds from the fastest time.
Alejandro Medina – P12
“It has been a positive three-day test: we are close to the leaders in terms of lap time and I feel good on the bike. When everything is in place and I’m already fully adapted, we will surely do well. The Energica is a difficult bike to understand, because it is very different from any bike that I have previously ridden, but every day we have given a step forward and we have understood it more. In the last session we have improved even more. We are happy with this test.”
Alejandro Medina
Throughout the Official Test the MotoE class were testing new tyres from Michelin, as well as new Öhlins forks and new airflow cooling for the batteries, which helps the Energica Ego Corsas charge quicker too.
See below for the updated 2020 MotoE calendar, as of March 13, 2020.
MotoE Jerez Test – Overall Top 10
- Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) – 1:47.494
- Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) + 0.052
- Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) + 0.225
- Bradley Smith (WithU Motorsport) + 0.379
- Alex De Angelis (Octo Pramac MotoE) + 0.450
- Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) + 0.624
- Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) + 0.816
- Niki Tuuli (Avant Ajo MotoE) + 0.843
- Josh Hook (Octo Pramac MotoE) + 1.074
- Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) + 1.100
2020 MotoE Calendar (Updated March 13, 2020)
- Race 1 – July 5th -7th – Sachsenring, Germany
- Race 2 – August 9th -11th – Red Bull Ring, Austria
- Races 3 & 4 – September 13th -15th – Misano, Italy
- Races 5 & 6 – November 15th -17th – Valencia, Spain
Source: MCNews.com.au
