Energica confirms exit from MotoE after 2022 - what next for electric World Cup?

The 2022 MotoE World Cup will be the fourth and final season to use a supply of Energica Ego Corsa electric sportbikes, with Dorna giving no clear indication of its plans beyond next season.

Dorna and the FIM launched the MotoE World Cup in 2019 as its first concerted push into promoting greener initiatives in the motorcycle industry, with Energica - a relatively young Italian manufacturer specialising at the premium end of the burgeoning electric motorcycle market - chosen as the control supply tender.

However, it has announced the original four-year deal to supply the MotoE World Cup grid will conclude as planned at the end of the 2022 season amid a shake up of the format that will see E-Pole replaced by a more conventional qualifying format, while a third ‘qualifying’ race will also be added.

With the Ego bikes proving reliable and quick - hitting 260km/h down the home straight at the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona - Dorna says Energica has expertly fulfilled a difficult brief to introduce electric racing to the grand prix programme 

 “The first three seasons of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup have delivered an incredible show despite all the unforeseen external challenges that have been thrown at us. It wasn’t an easy task to undertake and one very new in many aspects, but we did it and this was thanks to a joint effort between all parties involved. 

“From the very beginning, Energica has brought its know-how to the track in a way we couldn’t be happier with,  delivering a package that has proved to be extremely competitive, showing impressive maximum speed (exceeding 260km/h in Barcelona in 2021), and lap-times that on some occasion were in line with other classes – despite the much shorter history of electric motorcycles.

“Maybe even more impressive than the on-track performance, was the bike reliability, as none of the 18 riders ever encountered any mechanical failure during any of the races we enjoyed in the three seasons. 

“Their ability to respond quickly and effectively to our requests and the ones coming from the riders and teams are proof of all the expertise and passion they brought to the series. 

“All sides are committed to continuing giving their maximum effort into 2022, for what will be another spectacular year of racing. I would really like to thank Energica for the quality of their innovative products and their engagement in the MotoE series.”

What next for the MotoE World Cup?

With Energica exiting the stage at the end of next season, it is unclear what the future holds for the MotoE series, with Dorna giving nothing away about how it plans to proceed from 2023.

It is presumed the series will continue as part of a plan to blend sustainable technologies into MotoGP itself in future, though there are precious few like-for-like alternatives to the Energica Ego right now.

As such, though the FIM bent its own rules by using production models in the otherwise exclusive prototype-designed GP classes, 2023 could be the right time to align MotoE with its support package contemporaries.

WIth this in mind, two options stand out. One could see a manufacturer or supplier create its own control supply of electric-powered prototypes for the entire grid to use, or Dorna might see enough interest so as to open it out to multiple entries.

Either way, with manufacturers beginning to forge ahead with plans to electrify ranges over the coming decade, the platform of showcasing such technology on the GP stage will likely generate some high profile appeal among the big manufacturers.

KTM - which already has a huge presence across all three classes - have intimated it wants its electric sportster on sale around 2023, while Triumph - which supplies the engines for the Moto2 grid - teased its  TE-1 Project sportsbike earlier this year in sketches too.

Triumph has since confirmed to Visordown that the TE-1 isn’t destined to become a roadgoing model and will instead remain as a design study prototype to inspire other EV models in the pipeline.

Given Triumph is getting close to revealing a finished version of the concept soon, it could very neatly tie into some MotoE involvement.