A flash of lightning in the desert. On Sunday, 18 March, Enel attended the official debut of an electric motorbike on a MotoGP circuit at Losail in Qatar.
EgoGP, the electric racing motorcycle developed by Italian manufacturer Energica (which is sponsored by Enel, title sponsor of the FIM MotoE Enel World Cup), streaked along in silence under the fast track’s myriad lights just before the opening race of the 2018 MotoGP season. That history-making maiden demo-lap took place at night, of course, as has long been traditional for the spectacular Qatar Grand Prix.
Alongside the EgoGP down on the track was an Enel X mobile charging station to speed up recharging. The first ever “full electric” competition bike was put through its paces on the 5,380-metre desert circuit by New Zealand driver Simon Crafar, who was pleasantly surprised by the smooth acceleration and easy handling of his ride.
This was just an initial demo-lap that will be followed by others over the course of the World Championship season which has only just begun. Such tests are vital to providing the developers with important information to help them evolve the technology which, as of 2019, will enable drivers to compete for the first FIM MotoE Enel World Cup.
The next outing for MotoE and Enel’s charging technology is set for 8 April at the Termas de Rio Hondo circuit in Argentina, which is hosting the second round of the season.
That said, the eMobility Revolution era has just begun. These are merely the first steps not just towards optimising the performance of the bike and the charging technology but also in introducing a wider audience to the innovations developed to help e-mobility become mainstream. That is what spurred us to get out on the track with Dorna and create the first world cup dedicated to a green high-performance motorcycle: we want to give our power to the motorsport world to let the public see a whole new dimension of sustainable mobility. A future driven by the power of the track and the relentless pursuit of innovation. Just like a race in the desert: the silence of a fast, clean motor that gleams in the dark.