Italian electric motorcycle manufacturer Energica has seen the bikes being tested as the 'Spec' bikes for the upcoming all-electric MotoE championship destroyed by an overnight fire at the Jerez race circuit in southern Spain.
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| Alessandro Brannetti - Energica Tester Photo courtesy of www.motogp.com |
The MotoE bikes were at the circuit for three days of pre-season testing, but all 18 bikes that had been taken to the track on the opening day, Wednesday March 13, were burned when fire destroyed the newly built E-paddock structure in which the Ego Corsa machines were being stored overnight.
A statement from organiser Dorna (the MotoGP rights owner) said the five-race inaugural 2019 FIM Enel MotoE World Cup will still go ahead. The races will be held at selected MotoGP events, with the first race slated for the Spanish GP at Jerez on May 5, before moving on to Le Mans, the Sachsenring and Austria before concluding at Misano, Italy, on September 15.
At the time of writing the cause of the fire was still being investigated, but it is thought to have been caused by an electrical short circuit fault.
The joint statement issued by Dorna, Energica and ENEL stated that "the source of the short circuit has yet to be identified but, once the fire broke out, it ignited the high-density battery which is part of the high-performance charger used at MotoE events. The motorbikes were not connected to the charging infrastructure at the time the fire began".
The governing body responsible for MotoE, the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme [FIM], also issued a statement via its President, Jorge Viegas: "It is a terrible blow, but I am sure that all those working for this exciting new venture will find the strength and motivation to overcome this unfortunate occurrence and make the championship a success. We look forward to putting this behind us and are confident for the future."
A total of 12 teams - including MotoGP outfits Tech3, Pramac, LCR, Avintia, SIC Racing (which runs the Petronas Yamaha outfit) and Gresini (which operates Aprilia's works team) - signed up, and the rider roster includes the likes of Sete Gibernau, Bradley Smith and Xavier Simeon. The opening day of the Jerez test was topped by Avintia's Eric Granado.
