Rider reaction after MotoE debut

A selection of rider quotes from the inaugural test for the electric FIM MotoE World Cup, held at Jerez from Friday to Sunday…

Bradley Smith, One Energy Racing (1st): "I'm pleasantly surprised. They've done a great job of building a really good package that looks and feels like a racing bike. There's some aspects, such as the weight, that you have to be careful about but apart from that it feels good off the bat.

"Loris' input clearly helped and the test rider has done a great job where, as a base out of the box, it's quite good. Of course we'll start to make some personal tweaks to it now but in general it's good.

"Michelin has produced a good, safe tyre because it was a concern for me to understand how the tyres would allow these bikes to get enough force into them to generate temperature.

"The lack of noise doesn't matter; it's about the racing. That's what the spectacle is and that's all a racer wants. It's going to be tricky in a pack to not make mistakes when you try and overtake but it's going to be good. We all want close racing where we can battle with each other and that's what we've had from day one here.

"It's a bit bizarre not to have the sound of where a bike is but I think that as we progress you'll start to get a sense of where people are on track. You'll get a sense of noise it's just about being aware of it.

"The bike still talks to you like with RPM on a normal bike. They've programmed in a power curve. I rode the more direct one and you can manage it. The mapping is nice in the wet and in the dry.

"There's some changes that I'd like to make to the maps but they're small changes. There's good engine braking on the bike too and I tried a few maps on it for engine braking, and also the rear brake, so you need to adapt your riding to make it stop.

"The most important thing is that we know how a motorcycle engine accelerates and brakes and we have the numbers to prove what happens in a normal engine. You can map all of those same numbers to an electric motor too. You can't change the bike once you're on track so it's really important to know what you need to do once you're on track.

"We don't use a clutch in MotoGP now and there's already engine braking on this bike so you don't feel a need to backshift. You now only need to manage the bike on corner entry because there's less things to think about in terms of approaching the corner. We're definitely considering a scooter-style braking system but we need to check the regulations.

"I'm really excited to be involved in MotoE and I'm sure that absolutely everyone that's involved in this championship and signed a contract will be glad they're here."

Matteo Ferrari, Gresini (5th): "The bike takes a lot of adapting to, you have to slide a lot and avoid 'important' braking, as the bike is very heavy. I have to say that I like the tyres and the bike, both on dry and wet condition."

Kenny Foray, Tech3 (7th): "The first laps I spent to learn the track and then I started to try to find a feeling, after being on a 1000cc machine. Lap by lap, I enjoyed it more and more, but I know I still have to work a lot on myself to adapt my style, especially to improve my corner speed and some other things. I have to admit, it’s not easy, but it’s a lot of fun!”

Randy de Puniet LCR (8th): “The first test with the MotoE bike was really interesting, although we have been a little unlucky with the weather. There wasn’t too much time on track, and for the teams with two riders like us, the organisers provided only one bike available to share for this first test session.

"That meant we had to change things around a lot and we got less time than the teams with only one rider. Despite this, the feeling was good, and the pace was also good...

"There are still two more tests before the first race next year. We have time to improve, and by then we will have one bike each which will make working easier and allow us to improve our lap times. As things stand, it’s already good.”

Josh Hook, Pramac (9th): "I had a great time. If I have to be honest, I was impressed by the power delivery of the bike when accelerating, but mainly the most impressive thing was how easy is the bike to ride. After two laps I was already pushing hard. I wanted to do more laps but the battery doesn't allow it."

Alex De Angelis, Pramac (11th): "I'm impressed by the MotoE bike. At the beginning I was a little bit afraid but in the end it was fun! The engine is very good and coming from slow corners you can really slide the bike.

"I need to understand how it works and understand the bike because twice I came into with the rear completely sliding and I went for the clutch... but there's no clutch!

"The charge of the battery was fine but when the temperature rises the power reduces. That was important to learn. The bike is easy to understand and in the slower corners you have so much power and can slide the bike, but in a faster corner if you open the throttle it won't slide but it will push you wider."

Maria Herrera, Angel Nieto Team (18th): "The first feeling with the MotoE bike is good, the acceleration is quite smooth and it reminds me of a 600 - you have to keep the corner speed up because you can’t be aggressive on the gas.

"I have to understand the best way to get this bike stopped with the weight it has, which will be one of the main points of focus, as well as the inertia in corner entry, having never ridden a bike like this before."