2018 Jerez MotoE Saturday Test Times: Smith Fastest As Times Drop

The weather hit the MotoE riders perhaps even more hard than the Moto2 riders: there are 12 bikes present, and 19 riders, so riders in two-rider teams are having to share bikes. And when some sessions are wet and some dry, making comparisons is hard.

Bradley Smith ended the day as fastest, having improved yesterday's best time by over 1.5 seconds, a sign of how much and how quickly the teams and riders are learning about the new category, and how much room for improvement there still is. Niki Tuuli - fastest yesterday - was second quickest, finishing ahead of Mike Di Meglio and Matteo Casadei.

So far the main issue with the bikes is battery temperature: keeping batteries cool and within the optimum operating temperature makes a big difference in terms of performance, the batteries losing charge quickly when hot. Much experimentation is going on both in terms of riding style and in the pits with regard to keeping the batteries cool. Slipstreaming does not appear to confer an advantage - the bikes can't overrev in the way that a combustion engine can - and may be a disadvantage, preventing batteries from getting cool air. Even in a short race, strategy could be key, battery management replacing tire management as the crucial element in the race.

Times: