MotoE: Eric Granado starts the new era with the lap record

The three days of MotoE™ testing at Jerez were successful for the electric category, with Ducati starting its new adventure in style and with particularly close lap times in the top 10.

The lights of the inaugural FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship draw ever closer, and the first on-track action for the 2023 class has now concluded at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto. From Monday to Wednesday, the grid was treated to four 15-minute sessions of on-track action each day, as the new era begins, giving riders time to familiarize themselves with their new Ducati V21Ls and prepare for the upcoming season! Who was the fastest and what did we learn?

DAY BY DAY
Monday, the field was greeted by rain, and a few riders were missing due to their return from the recent WorldSBK round in Indonesia, notably Eric Granado (LCR E-Team), which was expected to be in the running. The first driver to be released was Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse), but not by much, with everyone eager to get their first taste of the new Ducati. During the second session the weather improved, but it was raining again at the end of the session.

Le Tuesday started with a little rain and cloudy skies, but eventually the weather started to improve and the slicks came out to ride. The 1'54 mark was crossed for the first time by Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) Tuesday morning, before the Italian is joined by his compatriot, and rookie, Luca Salvadori (Prettl Pramac MotoE), as well as by the two-time Cup winner Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team).

During the last session of the day, lap records were broken, with the weather finally dry enough to allow the drivers to give their all. Eric Granado achieved the fastest lap of the test, and ten drivers were below the 1'48 mark at the end of the day: Eric Granado, Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™), Nicolas Spinelli (Pons Racing 40), Mattia Casadei, the rookie Randy Krummenacher (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™), Hikari Okubo (Tech 3 E-Racing), Jordi Torres, Kevin Manfredi (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse), Héctor Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE™) and Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team).

Wednesday, the rain returned for the first session, and the second was devoted to long runs. During the third session of the day, the situation improved again and the peloton took to the track for good as the sun appeared. The final session was also favorable to the slicks, with some wetter areas, but the drivers were able to use the 15 minutes to gather more information.

Despite everything, no one has broken the new lap recordEric Granado, set on Tuesday, and the peloton will not return to Jerez this season, meaning this record will stand for some time!

COMBINED TIME SHEETS
The combined timesheets only represent Tuesday's results, and Eric Granado leads the way, his new record of 1'47.053 leading the sheet. Second place goes to Matteo Ferrari, winner of the 2019 Cup, while the debutant Nicolas Spinelli impresses in third place and wins the honor of best beginner.

From his third place to ninth place in Hector Garzo , no deviation is greater than one tenth. Casadei is 0,026 from Spinelli, Krummenacher at 0,020 of Casadei, Okubo at 0,002 of Krummenacher, Torres at 0,022Okubo, Manfredi at 0,090 of Torres et Garzo at 0,057 of Manfredi. Pons, in P10, is at 0.115, just ahead Tito Rabat (Prettl Pramac MotoE).

For a new era, it's pretty tight, and there are still three days of testing left for the peloton to learn more. The drivers are hoping that the weather will be better on the Barcelona – Catalunya circuit, so see you from April 3 to 5 to find out more!