A new adventure has begun in the electric series with Ducati coming on board to become the official supplier of the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship, set to host sixteen races in eight rounds in 2023. Tech3 E-Racing headed to Jerez in Spain for the first Official Test of the year, with both new recruits Japanese Hikari Okubo and Italian Alessandro Zaccone eager to try the new package from Italian manufacturer Ducati.

DAY 1
Monday was the first school day for the electric crew with Ducati. Both Alessandro Zaccone and Hikari Okubo started their testing programme in the morning, taking as much time on track as they could before the heavy afternoon rain prevented them from doing anything else. At the end of play of the first (wet) day, Zaccone placed himself tenth in the combined standings (1’57.747), and his new teammate Hikari Okubo thirteenth with a fastest lap in 1’58.415.

DAY 2
Tuesday began with some rain and cloudy skies, but the weather finally started to improve and the slicks eventually came out to play. This logically meant that times were able to go down in the afternoon. Sensations also became more natural on the new bike, especially for Okubo who managed to register a fastest lap in 1’47.526 during the final session. He was sixth in the standings at the end of day 2. This forth and final session of the day, fully dry, meant that all riders pushed for a fast lap, and it was no exception for Zaccone who registered a lap in 1’48.219, which got him a thirteenth place.

DAY 3
The third and final day on Wednesday started with the rain again, meaning that not many riders went on track at the first session. Track conditions eventually became better as the day went on, and the work could start from session number 2. Italian Zaccone completed the day in seventh with a lap in 1’48.395, with Okubo not far behind in seventh with a best in 1’48.468.

Tech3 E-Racing riders Hikari Okubo and Alessandro Zaccone complete their first Official Test in Jerez, respectively sixth and thirteenth in the standings. A lot was learned already, but there is still more to understand before being fully ready for the 2023 season. The electric class will be back next month for another three-day test in Barcelona, on April 3-4-5, 2023.

Hiraki Okubo

"I am very happy about my first three days with the Tech3 E-Racing team. They have welcomed me with open arms and I already feel like I have a family here. We did our first three days in Jerez with the new Ducati bike, and there are a lot of differences compared to the bike we had the previous year. We need to understand and learn about these differences before being able to be the fastest. The weather conditions were not ideal either: it rained a lot and it left us with very little dry track time, so we did the best we could. We have a good basis to work from for the next test in Barcelona early April.”

Alessandro Zaccone

"We just finished our first three days of testing in Jerez with the new Ducati bike. The weather has not really been on our side, with a lot of rain, mixed track conditions, making it difficult to go through our entire testing program. From my side, I need to get used again to the electric bike, the tyres, the data, and many other small things that will come back again with a few more days on track. We did our best work today on the final day, but I think that we still have a lot of margin to improve, which we will exploit at the next test in Barcelona. I feel good with the team, they are a good bunch of people working well, and I am sure that we can have a great season together. See you at the next test in Barcelona!"

Hervé Poncharal

Team Manager

"2023 is set to be a very important year for the FIM Enel MotoE™ World Championship as a new supplier in the name of Ducati comes on board. Tech3 E-Racing was waiting impatiently for this first test in Jerez to try the new bike, and we are leaving the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto very happy and optimistic about the upcoming season.

The weather did not do us any favour, but we still managed to understand the new bike, to get to know the Ducati supporting staff, and the wet conditions meaning that we were able to gather a lot of information for Michelin. Our two new riders Hikari Okubo and Alessandro Zaccone were able to try the bike in a lot of different conditions, which in the end will be fruitful for us.

Both riders have been feeling really well within their new team, and it is definitively a mutual feeling from Tech3 E-Racing end.

The lap times were good and we can already tell that the new Ducati machines will be very fast. We still have to exploit more of its potential, and for this we need dry track time, which hopefully we will have next month in Barcelona.

We are happy with this Jerez Test and feel like we have completed our mission. We can’t wait already for the next test in Montmelo early April. We believe that we will have a great 2023 MotoE championship this year."