The arrival of the new qualifying format for the 2022 FIM Enel MotoE World Cup has been a thrilling battle for pole position which went down to the wire at Le Mans.
Despite missing the entirety of Free Practice 1 due to an early crash at the first corner – and having to make his way through Q1 – Mattia Casadei (Pons Racing 40) came out victorious for the slimmest of margins: one thousandth of a second over Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt IntactGP).
Aegerter was the one keeping the pole position battle alive as he entered the last sector with more than a tenth of a second advantage over Casadei but was unable to maintain it up to the finish line. Still, this is a very encouraging result for the experienced Swiss rider, who got a direct seed to Q2 with the last slot available (8th place in the combined free practice times).
Casadei and Aegerter will be joined on the front row by Kevin Zannoni (Ongetta Sic58 Squadracorse), who surprised everyone from the get-go by showing a level of speed he had never displayed prior to this round. The MotoE sophomore rider is clearly gelling well with the updated Energica Ego Corsa machine as he gets ready for what could be two crucial races in his young career.
Row two for Saturday (16:25 GMT +2) and Sunday (15:30) races will be headed by Eric Granado (LCR E-Team), with reigning champion Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) and Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) alongside the current world cup leader.
Matteo Ferrari (Felo Gresini MotoE), Niccolò Canepa (WithU GRT RNF MotoE Team) and Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing), will line up on the third row.
Source: Energica Motor Company
Picture Moto GP
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