The high expectations for the return to the track of the 2020 FIM Enel MotoE World Cup were matched today as the 18 riders entering the competition showed great speed aboard their Energica Ego Corsa machines on day one at the Misano World Circuit in Italy, which was pleasantly and unusually – at least for this year – filled with ten thousand people on the grandstands.
At the end of the opening two free practice sessions, two of the main favourites for this year’s title, Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) and Matteo Ferrari (Team Trentino Gresini MotoE) were separated by only 32 thousandths of a second, with the Brazilian topping the timesheets ahead of the reigning world cup champion with a lap-time of 1’43.990secs.
Both riders are laser focused on the win in this doubleheader at Misano after the big setback last time out at Jerez. Third place went to the Sammarinese Alex De Angelis (OCTO Pramac MotoE), who was able to stay in the top three after leading the way in the morning’s opening session. Current series leader Dominique Aegerter did not take too long to find his way around the well-known Misano World Circuit ‘Marco Simoncelli’ aboard his Energica machine as he immediately settle into a good rhythm; he will now turn his attention to bridge the gap in terms of lap-time with the leading duo.
With Mattia Casadei (Ongetta Sic58 Squadracorse) a solid fifth, the returning Niki Tuuli (Avant Ajo Motorsport) finally showed glimpses of his 2019 form by claiming sixth place ahead of Mike Di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), the LCR E-Team duo of Xavier Simeon and Niccolò Canepa, the current runner up in the championship standings Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) and Lukas Tulovic (Tech 3 E-Racing).
Little more than eight tenths of a second comprised these eleven riders, which is a good sign ahead of the third free practice of the weekend, taking place tomorrow morning from 11:50 local time (GMT +2).
