The first sporting highlight is the opening race of the MotoE. When the pilots take off shortly before 1 p.m. on Friday, the usual roaring of the engines will be absent. Because: In the racing series, only electric motorcycles compete against each other. I’ve always wondered how you convince motorsport fans to get just as excited about an electric racing series. Because – I have to be honest – at first glance the vibration, the noise, which are also part of the experience, are missing.
That’s why I made an appointment to meet Nicolas Goubert. He is the Executive Director of MotoE at Dorna – the MotoGP organizer. “The point is,” says Goubert, “we have to show what is technically possible. When we started in 2019, there were already a lot of electric vehicles on the roads. So we decided to integrate this progress into racing as well. ” The organizers want to show that serious racing can also be done with electric motors.
Relevant technologies must find their way into racing, he says. And how do you convince the fans who miss the missing “racing feeling”? “If you watch TV, then as a fan you don’t have the same sound as on the track. You watch racing because you want to see drivers fighting for positions. And we drive just as fast, just as intensely. The excitement is the same And that’s the most important thing!”, says Nicolas Goubert.
While we’re getting used to it, MotoGP practice is behind us. And in order to offer the fans at the Ring as exciting a weekend as possible, the weather turns on and it starts to drizzle. Not strong but enough to make the track a bit slippery. There are several falls. The field of drivers is close together. A total of 16 drivers complete the run within one second. The German Jonas Folger ended the first practice session in 20th and last place.
Speaking of rain: As is sometimes the case with such major events, the workplace and the Internet are a long time coming. But I’m not like that. There are beer benches and good coffee right next door. And since I’ll be here before lunch break, I don’t need a towel to secure a seat either!
I’m sitting with André, Marcel, Daniel, Christian and Bello from Gotha. The Thuringians have a brilliant view of the Sachsenring. Motorcycle fans have been coming to the Sachsenring for MotoGP for more than 20 years. On Friday, the Thuringians between the ages of 43 and 45 will take it easy – the big races don’t start until Saturday.