That’s round 3 of the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship done for Tech3 E-Racing. Alessandro Zaccone took his first podium with the team in race 2, finishing in third, while Nicholas Spinelli will head to Mugello willing to forget Montmelo, after crashing in both races.
Race 1
After reaching his best qualifying result in P3 since he joined the Tech3 family, Alessandro Zaccone lost a couple of positions at race 1 start, and dropped to P6 as the traffic got intense in turn 1. The next lap, he lost another position and was in 7th, as he tried to settle a bit more in the race. Once he managed to do so, Zaccone rode his fastest lap in lap 4, in 1'48.461 (second fastest lap of the race), which allowed him to gain ground on his rivals ahead. He fought until the final lap to see the checkered flag in P5, while his teammate Nicholas Spinelli, winner of both races in Le Mans, crashed in the opening lap, for the second time this season.
Race 2
For the second electric race of the day, Zaccone took a better start than at lunch time. Although he dropped a few positions, he was back up in fourth after one lap. His race was decent as he tried to stay close to the front three, when a mid-race crash of Eric Granado offered him a provisional spot on the podium, a position he held on until the end, to reach the third step of the podium for the first time since he joined the team at the start of the 2023 season. On the other hand, the operation in the championship could have been good for Nicholas Spinelli. After his crash this morning, it was his title rival Mattia Casadei who made a mistake in the afternoon. Important points were at stake, but Spinelli also crashed. Terrible weekend in Catalunya for the Italian, who will look to bounce back next week in Mugello, should he want to remain in the fight for the title.
We will now head to beautiful Mugello next week for the Italian Grand Prix!
Race 1: 5th
Race 2: 3rd
Championship: 9th
Points: 44
"I am very happy to finally be back on the podium. The last two years have been tough, we have worked really hard, and it is a great reward for us to go back home with a trophy. It is good for the spirit, good for the team, we are happy. It is important to take strong points, and we are heading to Mugello with a great feeling. I look forward to getting back at it next week already!"
Race 1: DNF
Race 2: DNF
Championship: 4th
Points: 75
"I am sad, because we started the weekend good. We were fast in the practices, before making a mistake in qualifying and missing out on a potential pole position. In race 1, I made an error and crashed, and then I also crashed in the second race. Terrible weekend, I want to say sorry to the team and the boss, and we are fully focused on Mugello next week."
HERVE PONCHARAL
Team Manager
"We are super happy to finally see Alessandro Zaccone on the podium after a lot of hard work over the last year. He is such a hard worker, but has been on a few occasions quite unlucky, so as a team, we all really feel happy for him, and we hope that it is going to give him an extra boost of confidence for the next races. On the other side of the garage, the weekend was a disaster for Nicholas Spinelli. He gave us an incredible feeling in Le Mans, winning both races, but this week he did exactly the opposite, crashing at the two races. In race 2, it was very important to stay on the bike after his main rival in the title fight crashed, but we were unable to keep that advantage. Luckily, the championship lead is still within reach, so we will have to arrive in Mugello strong next week. A funny fact with Nicholas: we have done six races, three wins, and three crashes, so it looks like he either goes on the top step of the podium or in the gravels, so let’s hope that he will pick the first option next week in Italy."
