Day 1 of the first MotoE World Cup test of 2021 has drawn to a close at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto and it’s one of 2020’s fastest men on top: Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP).
The Swiss rider put in a 1:48.478 to edge out fellow veteran Eric Granado (One Energy Racing) as the two ended the day only a tenth and a half apart at the top, with Alessandro Zaccone (Octo Pramac Racing) taking third as he showed some top pace on Tuesday.
Both Aegerter and Granado set their fastest laps in the third and final session of the day in a dry but slightly cloudy Andalucia, as did all but two of the riders on track.
17 of the 18-strong grid are in attendance for the three-day outing, with only Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadra Corse) sidelined as the Italian suffered an injury in training.
There are nine rookies on the grid this season and the fastest debutant on Day 1 really hit the ground running. Spanish youngster Fermin Aldeguer (Openbank Aspar Team), who will be only 16 on his race debut in MotoE, was fourth fastest overall and impressed from the outset – even ending the day ahead of a very familiar name as 2019 Cup winner Matteo Ferrari (Team Gresini MotoE) was forced to settle for fifth.
Ferrari also crashed on Tuesday but was unhurt and unfazed, heading up a close trio of experienced runners. Lukas Tulovic (Tech 3 E-Racing) slotted into sixth as the German is back to full force following his injury troubles at the end of last season, with 2020 Cup winner Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) in seventh but the duo within a tenth of Ferrari as the timesheets got incredibly close. Xavier Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing), Maria Herrera (Openbank Aspar Team) and second fastest rookie Andrea Mantovani (Team Gresini MotoE) completed the top ten.
There was also more to see than just the laptimes, with teams trying a new post-session cooling system using dry ice.