On the occasion of the Qatar Grand Prix, New Zealander Simon Crafar, former winner of the 500 cc British GP in 3 and now a commentator for Dorna TV, took a lap of the Losail circuit with the Street Enercica EGO which prefigures the motorcycle who will run in 1998.
The machine that will equip the 18 riders in the future MotoE World Cup does not yet exist, and it is the production version that Crafar tried. It develops 145 horsepower and tops out at 245 km/h, accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 3 seconds.
« I didn't know the bike or the circuit, but the feel of the accelerator, the acceleration is like that of a stock 600cc, which is really impressive », Estimated Simon.
“The hardest part is stopping it because of the extra weight of the batteries, it's a bit... it doesn't want to stop, but in truth and to be fair, it's the road bike, not the competition version.
“So I imagine they will have developed it for when they have to race with it in a year's time and it will handle better and brake better without the ABS and some other things. »
For Crafar, the most impressive, “ it's acceleration. It's super progressive, I thought that since it was an electric motor it would be more on/off but no, you accelerate like with a normal motorcycle.
“The strangest thing is that I'm constantly looking for the gearbox ratios and they're not there. Since a lot of people have never ridden one, they asked me what it's like and I told them the same thing.
“I can also imagine that in the future, when the weight of the batteries has decreased, there will be no negative aspect, apart from the absence of noise because it is less exciting.
“They just need a test driver to find the racing geometry. »
New technology – same thrill! ⚡️
The #QatarGP saw the first ever demo lap for the new #MotoE World Cup bike!
Hear what former Grand Prix race winner Simon Crafar to say about his experience pic.twitter.com/jtNzzopNY0
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) March 20, 2018
Loris Capirossi's essay, early February:
