With just over a year having passed since the first test with Michele Pirro at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, Ducati has announced that work has begun on the V21L prototypes that will fill the FIM Enel MotoE World Championship grid for the 2023 season. The production of the bikes started in December with Ducati expecting the 23 required units to be ready by mid-February. In addition to the 18 racebikes, five spare units will be made available to the organisation. According to Ducati, each prototype will be assembled in the Ducati MotoE Racing Department with the same process, precision, and attention to detail used to build the company’s MotoGP machines.
The start of production of the V21L represents the beginning of a new and important chapter in Ducati’s history. For the Bologna-based company, this project was born with the aim of developing skills for its future, maintaining the approach that has always fuelled Ducati’s DNA: experimenting with technological solutions in the world of racing and working to ensure that everything developed in this area can then be used on motorcycles destined for customers all over the world. The V21L is said to combine the electronic technologies and chassis dimensions developed by Ducati Corse with the design process and project management typical of a road bike such as the Italian company’s Panigale V4.
Claudio Domenicali, CEO Ducati: “The start of production of the Ducati MotoE is a historic moment for our company, which with this project is thoroughly studying the technologies of the future for the world of motorcycling. It is an important area of experimentation, in which we are investing to build know-how, so that we will be ready when battery technology should allow the creation of an exciting electric road bike with the weight, performance and range that enthusiasts expect from a Ducati. We are therefore embarking on this new adventure with the aim of developing the people and skills within the company to shape what the character of a future Ducati electric road bike might be. The MotoE project represents a decisive step for Ducati to contribute to the reduction of CO2 emissions on the product side, alongside research into synthetic fuels (eFuel) that can reduce the total CO2 emissions of internal combustion engines to zero. Environmental sustainability is something that all individuals and all companies must consider a priority if the delicate balance of the planet is to be preserved. Ducati is committed to this also at industrial level, and the construction of the new Finitura e Delibera Estetica area classified as Nearly Zero Energy Building is just the latest example”.
After a year of development tests that have seen Michele Pirro, Alex De Angelis and Chaz Davies take turns riding the V21L prototype, the Ducati MotoE project is getting closer to the moment when the bikes will take to the track. The first test with the riders and teams that will compete in the 2023 World Championship is scheduled for 6, 7, and 8 March at Jerez, followed by three more test days on 3, 4, and 5 April at the Montmelò circuit in Barcelona.
The race debut will take place at the French Grand Prix on Saturday, 13 May. The 2023 MotoE World Championship calendar is spread over eight Grands Prix with two races per weekend, both on Saturdays. After the French debut, the MotoE World Championship will be present in all the following European races until the Misano GP, thus will continue at Mugello on the weekend of 11 June, at Sachsenring on the following weekend, and at Assen on 25 June. After the summer break, the Ducati MotoE bikes will return to the track at Silverstone on 5 August, before tackling the final three Grands Prix at the Red Bull Ring (20 August), Catalunya (2 September) and Misano (10 September).
