Di Meglio: No room for mistakes in MotoE

Despite being a race winner during MotoE's inaugural season, Mike di Meglio finished just fifth overall in the championship standings.

That's because, unlike the title top three, the Marc VDS rider suffered a non-score due to a technical issue in race one at Misano. He then also had to take evasive action when Xavier Simeon fell in front of him during race two.

Di Meglio: No room for mistakes in MotoE

Despite being a race winner during MotoE's inaugural season, Mike di Meglio finished just fifth overall in the championship standings.

That's because, unlike the title top three, the Marc VDS rider suffered a non-score due to a technical issue in race one at Misano. He then also had to take evasive action when Xavier Simeon fell in front of him during race two.

It's not just the short season that punishes such problems heavily, the meagre race distance also means any mistakes or incidents are hard to overcome.

“I learned a lot last year. I learned how to win, lose, come back and be clear that, if in motorcycling there is almost no room for mistakes, in MotoE, the 'almost' disappears completely," di Meglio said.

Like most of his rivals, di Meglio got his first taste of the 2020-spec Energica package during last month's test at Jerez, just before the coronavirus brought Europe to a standstill.

“The main changes are in the tyres, the chassis and the power unit," he said.

"Michelin brought new tyres to the test with interesting changes, although it is probably not the definitive version as they are planning to continue working on a new and improved option.

"Energica, on the other hand, has evolved the chassis and power unit from the 2019 version, evolutions that have gone in the right direction.”

However, the Frenchman still has to learn how to get the most out of it.

“I would be lying if I said I was very satisfied with my [test] result because I wasn't," he said. "However, it was a very positive test to make contact with the bike again and get the feelings to ride again.

"It was three days of intense work during which we tested a lot of things that will certainly help us for the future.”

While the planned MotoE season-opener during the Spanish Grand Prix weekend is already on the postponed list, Dorna today pledged to do all it can to hold the electric bike championship in 2020.

But when and where the first MotoE race of the year might happen remains unclear and, for now, di Meglio is in lockdown with his family.

“It's not an easy situation for anyone. I'm spending [the lockdown] in France with my wife and kids," he said. "You must be patient, positive and listen to the recommendations of the experts. Right now, the most important thing is to stay home and wait for the world to recover from this pandemic.”

The 2008 125cc world champion added: "I have two kids aged eight and four and they can't go to school. The older one, Matheo, has classes every day so, together with my wife, we try to replace the teachers as best we can. We've set up the di Meglio home school!

"With the little one there are classes too, although the activities are different. In the afternoon, once the classes are over, I start my extracurricular activities trying to train as much as I can to keep myself in shape physically.

"I'm trying to get out and run. We can do it here if we respect the allowed safety distances. At home I also work, I ride static bikes and do different physical circuits to keep fit. The truth is that I am quite well equipped to be able to do good training at home."

Latest 2020 MotoE Calendar (March 26)

Round

Date

Race

Circuit

1

3 May

Jerez (postponed)

Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto

2

28 June

Netherlands

TT Circuit Assen

3

16 August

Austria

Red Bull Ring - Spielberg

4

12 September

San Marino

Misano

5

13 September

San Marino

Misano

6

28 November

Valencia

Comunitat Valenciana - Ricardo Tormo

7

29 November

Valencia

Comunitat Valenciana - Ricardo Tormo

Read More