Zaccone, Aegerter, Casadei, Pons, Herrera and Granado get ready for Round 2 in France
Itโs a short turnaround before Round 2 of the 2021 FIM Enel MotoEโข World Cupย and before track action got underway at Le Mans, Jerez winner and therefore points leader Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac MotoE) was joined in the pre-event Press Conference by second-placedย Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP),ย Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corseโs Mattia Casadei fresh from fourth place, top five finisher and rookie Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team), Maria Herrera (Openbank Aspar Team) and Jerez E-pole sitterย Eric Granado (One Energy Racing) to talk shop ahead of lights out.
Here are some key quotes:
Alessandro Zaccone: โI feel very good, I feel strong and I feel very good with the team. We started the season in a great way and did a really good job in winter testing and in the first race weekend. I think we start here with a good base. For sure here itโll be more difficult because I donโt know the track very well, but weโll try to do our best.
โHere the weather will be different to Jerez, Iโve tried the MotoE bike once in the wet, here last year, but I donโt have a target. Iโll try to be as fast as possible and weโll see during the weekend!โ
Dominique Aegerter: โJerez was quite a good weekend, itโs very important to finish the race with 20 points. In a short Championship we saw last year itโs important finish every race near the front. Iโm looking forward to this weekend, I know the track from last year, we had a practice in the wet โฆweโll see how the conditions will be but weโre in a good way, we have a good set up, the team are doing a great job and I feel ready to fight for a good position again.
โI think the most important is to have a lot of luck! To bring with you in the race, because I was quite unlucky last year when I got taken off at the first chicane. I think the MotoE race with short distance and no real Warm Up lap itโs hard to stand up on Sunday morning and be focused with the feeling immediately on the bike. Riders need to concentrate and be careful at the first chicane and on the first lap with the weight of the bike. But itโs important to stay in front, the first three places on the grid are important to have a clear start. E-Pole is always something special, you canโt make any mistakes and go out the track limits or crash, otherwise you start behind, so you need to always maximise it but minimise the risk you take.โ
Mattia Casadei: โIโm happy because in the race in Jerez we tried a lot of new things on the bike and weโll see, itโs better. In the race I had a good rhythm, the same as the three guys in front and weโll see what happens here! Iโm ready.
โLast year here was very badย for me! But this year, Iโm happy and the conditions are the same for everyone, so Iโll put my best into it and weโll see what happens!โ
Miquel Pons: โFifth in Jerez for me was good. We need to work on E-Pole to start on the front rows but we improved in every session with the class and on the bike. We worked well with the team all together.
โHere is a new challenge, this is a new track for me. Weโll work with the same focus on good results to make a good E-Pole session, and thatโs the key focus.โ
Maria Herrera: โIโm really happy because I felt the same feeling as I did in the first year in Jerez. I have an injury now but Iโm happy to come back in a good way with the team, the MotoE bike and with the front tyre. But I have to keep working andย be faster!
โRight now I donโt have any target because I donโt know how it will feel rightย nowโฆ Iโve only had a week after the surgery and I donโt know more! But for sure my feeling is I just have to start the weekend like always and see how the arm is.โ
Eric Granado: โIโm feeling good, very motivated for this race. It was a great weekend in general for me in Jerez, I was veryย fast in every session and feeling so good with the bike, the feeling with the team is also so good. Unfortunately I made that mistake in the race but I take the good things: we are fast, we have possibilities to fight for the win. So Iโll take the positives, the crash was bad and I was very frustrated with myself because the only thing I shouldnโt have doneโฆ I did! But we always learn from our mistakes, I know I will achieve my goals so Iโll keep trying and pushing.
โEveryone here did less laps than Jerez, here will be another story. The conditions here also always change, but for me like always Iโll start the the same mindset, trying to do my best and improve every session, to have a good base with the bike for the race. Like I said in Jerez, my target is to get the maximumย points possible, Iโll do my best like always and Iโm sure my moment will arrive.โ
Thatโs it from Thursday, with Free Practice now giving the grid chance to prepare for another few laps of awesome racing. Tune in for E-Pole on Saturday at 16:10ย (GMT+2), before the race on Sunday at 10:05.
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