MotoGP riders curious to see MotoE, 'noise concerns'

This weekend's German Grand Prix marks the race debut of the new MotoE electric bike class, which will support MotoGP at four rounds this season.

Premier-class riders quizzed on the battery-powered bikes at the Sachsenring on Thursday were generally pleased to see MotoE as an addition to the usual schedule.

Some also cited MotoE's significance for the future of motorcycle racing and the opportunity it is giving to the riders involved.

But many just can't get over the lack of noise, compared to their fire-breathing combustion engines.

"People say MotoE is the future," said reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez. "I think everybody has seen some videos from the Valencia test. It was interesting, strange, and in the end it is another category.

"But of course at the moment I prefer the sound [of MotoGP] and all these things."

Danilo Petrucci jokingly suggested adding some MotoGP sounds to the MotoE bikes!

"For sure MotoE is something that must happen, I mean it's the future for the category, for the environment, for everything," he said. "But I think that the real engines are better, for sure in this moment.

"We need to look at other sides. But I think one of the best things about MotoGP is the sound. Maybe they can produce a sound [like this] on the electric bikes!"

"It is a totally different category to what we see in Moto3, Moto2 and MotoGP, but I think it is just let's say an opportunity for the riders and another kind of bike to ride," said rookie Fabio Quartararo.

"But I think like Danilo says, the sound of our bikes is unbelievable and I don’t think MotoE can sound like this!" added the youngest rider (20) on the MotoGP grid.

Fellow rookie Joan Mir said: "I'm glad to see, for the first time, MotoE race. Like Marquez said, I saw some videos. The sound is quite strange of course, but we will see how the race is on Sunday."

Factory Yamaha's Maverick Vinales raised the loss of noise from the point of view of the rider.

"It will be very strange to ride a bike without sound. Normally I use the sound a lot to ride the bike so it's very strange. But I think it's a new opportunity, for sure it's the future and let's see how it works.

"At the moment it's just the first years, then for sure the bikes will improve a lot."

Quartararo's Petronas Yamaha team-mate Franco Morbidelli was the only rider questioned not to mention the sound:

"Maybe it's a step towards the future, I don't know. But personally I like them, it's a new thing and it's also nice to see riders that maybe don’t ride anymore, like Gibernau, or De Angelis, race again. So it's also nice for the spectacle. It will be interesting to see."

MotoE features identical Energica motorcycles offering up to 160hp and a top speed of 270km/h, but with a weight of 260kg.

This weekend will see two free practice sessions on Friday, a Superpole on Saturday and then the eight-lap race on Sunday.