A little Christmas surprise landed in our inbox today, while the Ducati MotoE project is more advanced than expected, because its prototype motorcycle “V21L” has been doing laps on the Misano World Circuit. The motorcycle is the first iteration of what will be driven in the MotoE World Cup from the 2023 Season. And while Ducati announced a few months ago its intention to resume this series, the Italian brand is clearly still far from the beginnings of this project.
Although the Ducati V21L is not quite similar to its Superbike partner, it has the basic “Ducati” shape in its design, although it has a double-sided swingarm with an under stretched design and a progressive surprise absorber rod. The V21L drips in the carbon fiber to keep the weight low and looks a lot like the concept sketch we saw earlier from Borgo Panigale. The rear is a freestanding carbon fiber up to a solo seat (of course). At the bottom of the front of the bike you can see a small oil cooler, above which there is a cooler with a tap.
It remains to be seen if the Ducati V21L needs as much cooling or if the apparent radiator is only part of the battery matter. The Ducati V21L is equipped with the usual Go-Fast tips, with Öhlins for the suspension, Brembo for the brakes and Marchesini for the wheels.
Remarkable in the photos below is the fact that Ducati has Michelle Pirro on the bike both in dry and wet conditions, some of the photos showing the V21L with rain tires on board. The quotes about the Ducati provide few details, and we have to wonder how much of what they contain comes from the lips of the director of the press. We let you decide for yourself…
Roberto Canè, Ducati eMobility Director: “We are living a truly extraordinary moment. I find it hard to believe that this is a reality and still not a dream! The first electric Ducati on the circuit is exceptional not only for its uniqueness, but also for the nature of the company: difficult both for its performance objectives and for its extremely short periods. It is precisely for this reason that the work of the entire team dedicated to the project has been incredible and that today’s result reports to us the efforts of the last months. We are certainly not finished yet; indeed, we know that the road is still very long, but in the meantime, we have laid an important first building block.”
Michele Pirro, Ducati test driver: “Testing the MotoE prototype on the track was a real thrill, because it marks the beginning of an important chapter in Ducati’s history. The bike is light and already has a good balance. In addition, the gas connection in the first opening phase and the Ergonomics are very similar to those of a MotoGP motorcycle. If it weren’t for the silence and the fact that in this Test we decided to limit the power output to only 70% of the power, I would have easily imagined riding a bike.”
Ducati’s electric road bike project is interesting and we can’t wait to see how it compares to the Energica Ego Corsa road bike, which will replace it in a year. This machine was a fascinating and surprising ride when we threw a leg on it in Valencia a few years ago.