The FIM Enel MotoE World Cup returns this weekend to take on the new challenge of the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello. It’s the Cup’s debut at the stunning Tuscan track, so there was plenty to talk about in the pre-event Press Conference, with points leader Dominique Aegerter joined by fellow Le Mans winner Mattia Casadei, 2019 Cup winner Matteo Ferrari, France podium finisher Niccolo Canepa and fellow home hero Kevin Zannoni.
Q: How are you feeling arriving at Mugello as the World Cup leader?
Dominique Aegerter: “For sure, I’m very happy to be leading the championship. We have already had some great races this season. My goal is always to fight for the victory, but in MotoE™, it’s seven or eight laps, and only six here, so it’s not so easy. But, we are always fighting in the front group, so when you make a small mistake or the tactics are not really going your way, it’s not so easy to win the race, but this is our goal. It’s very nice to be here in Mugello, in Italy. For sure, it’s a really fantastic track, there will be a lot of spectators cheering for us, and for the first time with the MotoE™ bikes. I hope we can get some dry track time tomorrow for a good qualifying session in the afternoon, and let’s see how it goes with MotoE™ around this track.”
Q: Will a new track be easier with a ‘different’ bike compared to last year?
DA77: “For every rider, it’s the same. We have the 20 minutes of track time, everybody has the same tyres, everybody has a fully charged battery, and then it’s just how fast you can adapt to the race track with the bike. Maybe your team can make some small changes to the suspension or with the gearing, and it’s just important to focus on your riding every lap, to find the limit of the bike on the track, and tomorrow we will see which rider can achieve this the best. For sure, in Le Mans and Jerez, we had a lot of track time and data from last year, but here everything is new, so we just need to go out and see how the bike reacts, and how the bike feels on this race track.”
Q: You took that long-awaited victory in France; what has made the difference this year so far?
Mattia Casadei: “Honestly, I don’t know! I was fast last year but in one race, I had COVID and couldn’t fight for the championship, but I finish only 20 points from the winner and it’s good. This year, it’s a new team and I am working very well with them. It’s fantastic, I am fast, and this is my goal. I’m very happy.”
Q: Have some of the performances on the grid surprised you this year?
MC27: “No, all these guys are fast, and whoever works better with the bike goes faster than the others. I have to work on the final lap of the race because, in Le Mans, after the first drop of the tyre, I’m not very fast. But now, we’re working on it, we’ll go better. I’ll try to get the best result here in this fantastic Mugello track. The Italian fans are fantastic and I’m happy to be here.”
Q: You are the MotoE™ king of Misano, but what do you expect from this very different fast, flowing Italian venue?
Matteo Ferrari: “It’s fantastic to be here for the first time. I was here in the World Championship in Moto3 in 2015, and it’s incredible, because the fans in the stands are incredible every day. I think it will be another feeling with MotoE, because the feeling when you go in a new track with MotoE is incredible, so I think that will also be the case here…”
Q: What is your goal to improve this weekend, after a good weekend in Jerez but a tricky one at Le Mans?
MF11: “I was fast on Saturday in Le Mans because I improved my lap time from last year, and also I had really good pace. I lost the grip on the rear on the first lap so I didn’t achieve the podium for this reason but I had a good race. In the second race, I lost a little bit of feeling with the bike, so I didn’t overtake too much during the race and I finished only seventh, but it was good points for the championship. Of course, here we have to improve a little bit in qualifying, because we started the first round on the second row, and the second round on the third row. So, I think we have to improve this for tomorrow, and then we’ll see in the race, because it’s only six laps this weekend and it will be important to start very fast like Mattia did in Le Mans.”
Q: It was a first podium in France, what made the difference for you?
Niccolo Canepa: “I feel like the team did an amazing job on the bike, on the set-up, and I felt like, from the beginning of the weekend, I was really strong and could be faster. Then unfortunately we had the accident with Torres crashing in front of me in the first race, and I lost so many positions, so the first race didn’t go as planned. But the second race went really well and I’m really happy because I also enjoyed passing, I made many overtakes and it was a really nice race for me. I have to say that I really enjoyed being on the podium and I will try my best to be on the podium again this weekend.”
Q: What do you expect from a MotoE™ bike here, given your Mugello experience?
NC07: “For sure, it will be really exciting to ride here on the MotoE bike. I think I’ve ridden here on any kind of bike since I was 12 years old, so I can say I have a lot of experience on this track as well, but it will be really exciting to try the MotoE™, to see what sort of lap time we can do, to see how fast we can be in the corners. I want to see how we will do the Arrabbiatta, Casanova, Savelli, these kind of corners that are unique in the world, and it will be really exciting for sure to see how we can ride the MotoE™ on this track.”
Q: You must be happy to have been at the front in France and show that speed, even if you just missed out on the podium?
Kevin Zannoni: “Yes, I’m very happy about Le Mans, because I was fast. Unfortunately, I did not finish on the podium, but I was fast all weekend, from free practice to the races. In Race 1, I tried to win but I crashed. In Race 2, Niccolo passed me very close to the finish line. But okay, we need to do another weekend like Le Mans here.”
Q: Did the weekend help you learn a lot?
KZ21: “Yes, I understand the bike better, race by race. Because I come from Moto3, last year was a little bit difficult for me, but the last race was not so bad. Every race, I can improve something and understand from the other riders. Here in Mugello, I know the track very well, because we race a lot here in the Italian championship. But with MotoE, for sure it will be different, because MotoE is heavy. So, the change of direction on this track, I don’t know, but for sure, it will be amazing.”
