The FIM Enel MotoE World Cup electric motorcycle racing series will carry on in 2019, despite a massive fire at the E-paddock at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain destroying "the majority of material" — meaning, the motorcycles.
Nobody was injured during the massive blaze, but the first event at Jerez has been canceled.
Amid a week of preseason testing, a new area designated for electric vehicles at Spain's Circuito de Jerez was totally engulfed in flames, as seen in the video below. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire, but a release posted to MotoGP.com made it clear that none of the electric motorcycles were charging at the time, thus clearing that as a possible root cause.
According to Motorsport, 18 bikes were lost in the fire. The MotoE series will still be using Energica Motor Company's Ego Corsa motorcycles throughout the season, just not the ones they had originally prepped. The Ego Corsa has a battery capacity of about 20 kWh and has power up to 162 horsepower. It tops out at about 168 mph.
"Dorna Sports and all of our partners in this new venture are committed to getting the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup back on track as soon as possible, with work already underway to begin rebuilding and replacing materials and motorcycles lost in the fire," the release stated.
MotoE is set up to be a sister series linked to MotoGP. With the original Jerez race on May 5 off the calendar, only four races remain on the schedule: Le Mans on May 19, Sachsenring on July 17, Austria on August 11, and Misano on September 15. MotoGP made it clear this schedule would be revised in the near future once they are able to assess a clearer timeline.
Nobody was injured during the massive blaze, but the first event at Jerez has been canceled.
Amid a week of preseason testing, a new area designated for electric vehicles at Spain's Circuito de Jerez was totally engulfed in flames, as seen in the video below. An investigation has been launched to determine the cause of the fire, but a release posted to MotoGP.com made it clear that none of the electric motorcycles were charging at the time, thus clearing that as a possible root cause.
According to Motorsport, 18 bikes were lost in the fire. The MotoE series will still be using Energica Motor Company's Ego Corsa motorcycles throughout the season, just not the ones they had originally prepped. The Ego Corsa has a battery capacity of about 20 kWh and has power up to 162 horsepower. It tops out at about 168 mph.
"Dorna Sports and all of our partners in this new venture are committed to getting the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup back on track as soon as possible, with work already underway to begin rebuilding and replacing materials and motorcycles lost in the fire," the release stated.
MotoE is set up to be a sister series linked to MotoGP. With the original Jerez race on May 5 off the calendar, only four races remain on the schedule: Le Mans on May 19, Sachsenring on July 17, Austria on August 11, and Misano on September 15. MotoGP made it clear this schedule would be revised in the near future once they are able to assess a clearer timeline.
MotoE series bosses Dorna have confirmed that 'a majority of material' has been lost in last night's fire at Jerez, but that thankfully no one was hurt. An investigation into the causes is underway. pic.twitter.com/HBpHTZl0wZ
— MCN Sport (@MCNSport) March 14, 2019
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