Energica Selected To Supply Bikes For FIM Moto-e World Cup

Those who thought Formula-E would not gain any traction couldn’t be more wrong. In fact, it has become a major force with carmakers like Audi, Citroen, Jaguar and even homegrown Mahindra taking part in the electric racing series. Next season will witness Nissan and BMW enter the sport as well. Mercedes-Benz and Porche too might be a part of it in the future. Taking a leaf out of the Formula-E’s book, Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holders of MotoGP and WSBK, is set to introduce a new championship series for electric bikes, the FIM Moto-e World Cup. Now, it seems that they have selected electric bike maker Energica to supply bikes for the series, which is expected to start in 2019.

Energica electric race bikes for the series will be based on the road-going Energica Ego. Rumours suggest that the race bikes will use the stock 134PS electric motor, albeit with a lighter frame and bodywork. The street-spec 11KwH battery might be swapped for a lighter and more powerful pack though. The focus will be on enabling the bikes to touch a top speed of 200kmph.

While there were other key bidders like the Belgium-based Sarolea and US-based Lightning Motorcycles, both of whom have enough motorsport experience, one of the key reason Energica won the bid was that the organisers wanted the race bikes to be similar to the one you could buy off the shelf. The Moto-e World Cup won’t be the first racing series for electric bikes. In fact, FIM did run the now-defunct e-Power International Championship that ran one full season in 2013. There’s even the Isle of Man TT Zero race if you think about it. The Moto-e World Cup, however, would be vastly different as it will be a one-make series for the time being. Future plans include making Moto-e an open series to allow electric bike makers introduce their own technology in the mix.

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As mentioned before, the series is expected to begin in 2019 and will have a five-round format. The 10-lap race is expected to feature a grid if 18 riders. Apart from the races, all venues that host the Moto-e are expected to be carbon neutral with green energy power stations utilising renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.