Granado victorious as Pons and Casadei collide

Another dramatic year of MotoE™ is on the cards if the first race of the season at Jerez is any guide

Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) has taken victory in the first race of the 2022 FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup at the Gran Premio Red Bull de España. In a typically entertaining contest, as many as five riders were in the fight for victory, and it was in that bunch that Miquel Pons (LCR E-Team) and Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) collided on Lap 6.

Pons had qualified on pole as the Q1-Q2 system was used in MotoE™ for the first time but it was Hector Garzo (Tech3 E-Racing), on his return to the World Cup, who got the holeshot and led the field to the first corner at the Circuit de Jerez-Angel Nieto. What followed was a duel between him and Casadei, with Pons running close behind.

Pons had qualified on pole as the Q1-Q2 system was used in MotoE™ for the first time but it was Hector Garzo (Tech3 E-Racing), on his return to the World Cup, who got the holeshot and led the field to the first corner at the Circuit de Jerez-Angel Nieto. What followed was a duel between him and Casadei, with Pons running close behind.

A flashpoint in the leading group

By the halfway mark of the eight-lap race, Granado and then Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) had caught up to the leading trio to make it a five-way battle at the front of the field. Garzo still had eyes forward when he tried to go down the inside and reclaim first position from Casadei at Turn 6 on Lap 6, but he could not make the move stick and instead was overtaken by Granado at Turn 8.

That gave the Brazilian a clear shot at a pass for the lead, and he dived underneath Casadei when they arrived at Turn 13. That was clean enough, as was Pons’ move for third position on Garzo just behind them.

However, Pons seemingly decided that he would go for a double overtake. The Spaniard tried to follow Granado through a diminishing gap on the inside of Casadei, at which time they made side-to-side contact which put the Italian on the floor.

The contact meant Granado could quickly make a half-second gap at the head of the field, with Pons emerging second, Aegerter third, Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE™) up to fourth, and Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) to fifth. Garzo had dropped to sixth because he had to ride around the outside of a falling Casadei.

More drama on the final lap

Pons started to close the gap to Granado before a long lap penalty for ‘irresponsible riding’ was announced during the final lap. Aegerter had no opportunity to see that message before the chequered flag, so he instead pulled off a move at Turn 9 which he set up brilliantly by getting on the outside of Pons through Turn 8.

Granado reached the finish 0.696 seconds ahead of Aegerter for his sixth race win in the World Cup, with Pons crossing the line in third but demoted to eighth once a three-second penalty for not being able to take the long lap was applied.

Third therefore instead went to Ferrari, with Garzo fourth and Torres fifth. Casadei did make the finish, but in 17th, while the sole DNF was Alessio Finello (Felo Gresini MotoE™) due to a crash on Lap 2.

After eight laps of MotoE™ action, there is even more to come on Sunday at Jerez, when Race 2 gets underway at 15:30 (GMT +2).

MotoE™ Race 1 Top 5:

1. Eric Granado (LCR E-Team) – 8 laps
2. Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) + 0.696
3. Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE) + 1.005
4. Hector Garzo (Tech 3 E-Racing) + 1.537
5. Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) + 1.697

CLICK HERE FOR FULL RESULTS!

VideoPass allows you to watch every single second of every single sector LIVE and OnDemand
 
Get the official MotoGP™ Newsletter!
Create a MotoGP™ account now and gain access to exclusive content, such as the MotoGP™ Newsletter, which features GP Reports, incredible videos and other interesting information about our sport.