After Formula E, the electric motorcycle world championship arrives. It kicks off in 2019 with bikes made exclusively in Italy, in Modena. And what if Valentino Rossi were to get involved?
From 2019, the first edition of the Fim MotoE World Cup arrives — the first world championship for electric motorcycles. It has been officially announced by Dorna, the company that manages major motorcycle racing events including the MotoGP World Championship (MotoGP) and the Superbike.
As happened with Formula E for four-wheeled racing, the Fim MotoE World Cup also has a single supplier for the two-wheeled machines. The Modena-based company Energica will supply the electric motorcycle world championship with a model derived from the Ego bike: the goal now is to make refinements for use in sporting competition.
The choice of a single supplier like Energica allows for a reduction in development costs for the vehicles, and therefore easier access to the electric motorcycle world championship for teams.
"We are proud to have been chosen by Dorna for this important project; our team is already hard at work," says Livia Cevolini, CEO of Energica Motor Company S.p.A. "Our history comes from racing; our passion for this sector has never faded. The Fim MotoE World Cup is an excellent project. After all, it is exactly what we aspired to during our racing years — now it can be managed professionally thanks to Dorna and its unique experience."
Indeed, the first Energica electric motorcycle models were born from the road-going version of the eCRP 1.4, a racing model that was vice world champion in 2011 and European champion in 2010.
"The Fim MotoE World Cup is a new and exciting project for Dorna, and we are very proud to announce that Energica will be the supplier on this new adventure. It is a cutting-edge and innovative company in the sector. We look forward to the incredible spectacle of electric motor racing," says Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports.
Vito Ippolito, FIM President, comments: "FIM is very pleased to support the development of new technologies, of which the new Fim MotoE World Cup is an example. Energica is proving to be a reliable and expert leader in this sector, and with the highly qualified support of Dorna we are confident we are setting off on the road to success."
The Energica Ego, the basis for the new model for the electric motorcycle world championship, has a motor capable of developing a power output of 107 kilowatts (equivalent to approximately 145 horsepower) and a lithium polymer battery capable of providing a range of two hundred kilometres. There are two charging options: fast charging brings the battery to 85 per cent in thirty minutes, while standard charging delivers a full charge in three and a half hours.
There are those, however, who are not betting on the success of the Fim MotoE World Cup. On the website Corsedimoto.com, there is a contribution from a blogger who explains how the absence of the classic roar of MotoGP bikes would fail to attract the traditional motorcycle racing public. "The normal racing public will not accept electric motorcycles, just as the car racing public has not accepted Formula E," writes blogger Paolo Gozzi, who continues: "Which, on the other hand, is liked (very much) by a different crowd — people who love novelty, sustainable motorsport, silence, innovation. A slightly nerdy and very chic audience. Go and see for yourself, and you'll understand."
The bet remains open, and these first few years will certainly serve as a shake-down period to gauge the potential of electric racing motorcycles. And who knows whether Valentino Rossi might one day give some thought to competing in the first world championship dedicated to electrically powered motorcycles.