MotoE: Torres Crowned Champion as Tuuli Wins Race 2 in Le Mans

October 11, 2020 October 11, 2020

Jordi Torres secured the 2020 MotoE World Cup crown in Le Mans Race 2.

A sixth place finish was enough for the Spaniard to stay on top of the table standings and clinch his first-ever international title. Last year’s champion Matteo Ferrari finished runner-up on equal points but more race wins than Dominique Aegerter.

The race victory went to Niki Tuuli who took the lead on the penultimate lap and defended his position from there. Local hero Mike di Meglio came second and Josh Hook rounded out the podium in third.

Niki Tuuli (Avant Ajo MotoE) stole the holeshot from polesitter Jordi Torres (Pons Racing 40) at the lights and led into the Dunlop Curve. The field was shaken by an early crash from Eric Granado (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) at the Dunlop chicane. As the Brazilian went down, he tacked Torres who stayed upright but dropped down into fifth.

Tuuli surrendered the lead to Mike di Meglio (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) on the opening lap with Josh Hook (Octo Pramac MotoE) close behind them. Dominique Aegerter (Dynavolt Intact GP) had a great start from 14^th on the grid and moved past Torres into fifth before capitalising on a mistake from Maria Herrera (Openbank Aspar Team) at Chemin aux Boeufs to take fourth.

Hook made his way past Tuuli on Lap 2 and a trio broke away at the front. Aegerter was the closest challenger and looked determined to hunt the leaders down while behind him, Torres claimed fifth from Herrera through Chemin aux Boeufs.

As it stood, Torres was the virtual cup winner with Aegerter just ahead of him and Matteo Ferrari (Trentino Gresini MotoE) further down the order.

Tuuli retook second place with four laps remaining and as Hook gradually lost touch, the race turned into a shoot-out between the Finn and di Meglio in the lead. Tuuli swept past his opponent through the Dunlop Curve and hit the front going into the chicane on the penultimate lap. Di Meglio still had a win on home turf in sight though and did not allow Tuuli to make a breakaway.

The fight lasted until the final sector where di Meglio had a look down the inside through Raccordement but Tuuli held firm to take victory. Hook meanwhile celebrated his best-ever MotoE finish in third.

Aegerter took the chequered flag in fourth from Ferrari who had claimed fifth from Torres on the final lap. That did not matter for the Spanish Elvis though who crossed the line in sixth and secured the fiercely contested World Cup title.

Coming into the 2020 season as a rookie, Torres had an exceptional campaign. He accumulated a total of four podiums, including a win, and never finished lower than sixth place, thus leading up to a thoroughly deserved championship crown.

The LCR E-Team riders Niccolo Canepa and Xavier Simeon finished seventh and eighth respectively ahead of Herrera. Xavi Cardelus (Avintia Esponsorama Racing) rounded out the top 10 from Lukas Tulovic (Tech3 E-Racing) and Alessandro Zaccone (Trentino Gresini MotoE).

Mattia Casadei (Ongetta SIC58 Squadrocorse) ended his charge from last on the grid in 13^th while Alex de Angelis (Octo Pramac MotoE) was 14^th in his final race before retirement. Jakub Kornfeil (WithU Motorsport) completed the field while Tommaso Marcon (Tech3 E-Racing) and Alejandro Medina (Openbank Aspar Team) joined Granado among the non-finishers.