After months of development work, we now get to see the Ducati MotoE prototype in action for the first time. We are writing about the Italian company's first electric motorcycle, which will be raced in the MotoE championship. The project is moving along at a rapid pace, as Ducati notes, and now we can see it in action.
For the first dynamic video of the new Ducati MotoE bike, former world championship rider Alex De Angelis has ridden the prototype. As the brand noted, the rider has returned to the Borgo Panigale family with the role of test driver, which he accomplished on the V21L prototype. The latter is an internal designation, so do not overthink it.
Back in December 2021, which feels like it was yesterday, but was four and a half months ago, Ducati carried out the first track test of its new electric motorcycle. Since then, the development team has been working relentlessly on the project, and they have tested it both internally, in undisclosed locations, and on major motorcycle circuits.
In the case of the latter, the Italians have not revealed their testing locations, as spy photographers might get a bit too curious for their taste. However, they did specify that testing was conducted on "some of the main Italian circuits."
The video you can watch below was shot on the Vallelunga track, and the bike is ridden by an experienced rider, so do not try to replicate what he does if you ever find yourself on the racetrack. You have been warned, and we write this because those who do not need this warning are already competing in a motorcycle racing series and are well aware of the risks involved.
Ducati's video is brief, to say the least, but it does let us hear its "electric whir," if you will, and see the MotoE prototype being pushed more and more towards its limits. The race bike will have to demonstrate handling, power, and reliability, and doing all three will be difficult when a new kind of propulsion system is used.
The good news is that the V21L prototype is the start of Ducati's electric era, which, for better or worse, will happen, and the company is already using this bike as a benchmark for its future production electric bike. The latter will have an entirely different set of challenges ahead, such as meeting price targets, range expectations, long-term reliability, rideability, and many more.
We will have to see how things move forward, but we are curious about what's next. What is clear is that the signature dry clutch sound of Ducati bikes, as well as the other audio signature of this brand, its V2 engine noise, will be a thing of the past at some point, although the marque has not specified how that is going to happen.
Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland. Full profile
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