MotoE: Ferrari Takes Cup Lead with Misano Masterclass

Matteo Ferrari clinched another commanding home win in Misano in a dramatic Race 2 at the Emilia Romagna meeting.

The Italian took the lead on the opening lap and did not look back from there. Mattia Casadei and Jordi Torres battled it out for second and third with a great defensive job securing Casadei the advantage.

Dominique Aegerter got taken out on Lap 2 and lost the cup lead to Ferrari who now holds a four points advantage over the Swiss rider. Torres sits in third, seven points off the top.

Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) and Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) went into Turn 1 side by side at the lights, but polesitter Aegerter just managed to hold on to his position. Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) had a poor getaway from the front row and dropped down to sixth behind Tommaso Marcon (Tech 3 E-Racing), Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadrocorse) and Alejandro Medina (Openbank Aspar Team).

Determined to dictate the action at his home, Ferrari took the lead going into Quercia on the opening lap. Torres did not waste time either and swiftly made his way past Medina into fifth.

Drama struck early on Lap 2 with potentially crucial effects on the championship. Casadei dived past Marcon going into Turn 1 and, unwilling to give up the position, Marcon tried to retaliate at Turn 2. In a poorly judged manoeuvre, he cut down the inside but failed to turn his bike and T-boned cup leader Aegerter, sending them both into the gravel. Aegerter rejoined, any point being an asset to his title challenge, but for Marcon the race was over.

Ferrari was left in the lead and already held an advantage of several tenths over Casadei and Torres. The Spaniard looked to have unrealised pace stuck behind Casadei and had numerous looks at his rival. Casadei, however, was late on the brakes and gave Torres no room for a clean move.

Further back in the field, Niccolo Canepa (LCR E-Team) had opened a small gap between himself and the pack in fourth. Punches were exchanged behind him in a feisty group of six riders.

Torres finally got past Casadei on the penultimate lap but ran well wide into Turn 9, leaving the door open for the Italian to reclaim the position. As the two chasers sacrificed time fighting each other, Ferrari was home and dry out front.

The Master of Misano took the chequered flag with a one second advantage to win the race and claim the cup lead. Torres tried everything to execute a late move, but Casadei ran a tight, defensive line to prevail in runner-up spot.

Canepa came home in fourth ahead of Alessandro Zaccone (Trentino Gresini MotoE) who had pulled away from the pack in fifth. Mike di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) led a close group over the line from Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing), Alex de Angelis (Octo Pramac MotoE), Medina and Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) who were all covered by a second.

Maria Herrera (Openbank Aspar Team) finished 11^th ahead of Niki Tuuli (Avant Ajo MotoE) and Jakub Kornfeil (WithU Motorsport). Xavier Simeon (LCR E-Team) came home in 14^th after starting the race from pit lane due to issues on his bike and Lukas Tulovic (Tech 3 E-Racing) took the last point on offer in 15^th. Aegerter’s comeback ended outside the points in 16^th while Josh Hook (Octo Pramac MotoE) joined Marcon among the non-finishers.