HAVING watched their green dreams go up in a blaze of orange flames and black smoke earlier this year at Jerez, the bold new MotoE World Cup rose from the ashes on Monday with the resumption of its pre-season testing in Valencia.
All 12 teams entering a rebuilt fleet of 18 all-electric Energica Ego Corsa bikes descended on the Spanish circuit to participate in the first public outing since the entire series was almost wiped out before it began in a fire that broke out in Jerez's paddock in March.
Nevertheless, organisers and suppliers regrouped, dug deep into pockets and just three months later MotoE is ready to go again with a rescheduled opener coming in Germany next month.
MotoE - which will comprise six races on the MotoGP support package this season - represents a huge new endeavour for both FIM and Dorna and is arguably the most important new motorsport series to be launched since the FIA Formula E Championship first blazed its emissions-free trail back in 2015.
The infiltration of eco-conscious machinery in motorsport is a conversation topic that has attracted a diverse range of opinion (usually negative) for years but there is no denying it is important against the backdrop of an industry that is shifting to more futureproof planet-friendly technologies.
And electric-racing needn't be completely incomparable to their fossil fuelled counterparts, as demonstrated by the Mugen Shinden Hachi, which hit a 176mph top speed in the hands of Michael Rutter during this year's TT Zero. It's reasonable to assume this will only get quicker as advances are measured in leaps rather than steps in this particular corner of motorbike development.
Admittedly we're not quite sold on the sound - or lack thereof - which remains an unfamiliar visual-audio marriage that our brains haven't yet adapted to. We have no doubt that will come though, even if we're not sure we'll ever quite enjoy the amplified high-pitch whine of a full-grid start, which you can experience below.
Then again, that acceleration... and we're wondering what linear torque slingshotting a bike out of a bend would allow when it comes to slipstreaming? OK, we're invested... roll on Round 1
Want a sneak preview of a #MotoE race start?
Go behind the scenes at the MotoE Valencia test on #MotoGP's Instagram feed right now! https://t.co/z40EdrQg2E pic.twitter.com/ZUIIFWLCBL
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) June 18, 2019
