2020 Le Mans MotoE Race 1 Result: Two Short Bursts Of Drama

MotoE provided the first racing action of the weekend on a sunny Saturday afternoon in Le Mans and the handful of laps were nothing short of drama. Mattia Ferrari nailed the start to lead into turn 1, with Alejandro Medina the other big winner, going from seventh on the grid to second by turn three, ahead of Josh Hook and poleman Jordi Torres. Having started last, Mattia Casadei was unceremoniously dumped out of the title battle with a high side at turn three and his stricken machine prompted a red flag for safe removal. Without a lap being completed, the grid went back to original positions for the restarted five-lap race, which meant that the poleman got another shot to get it right.

Ferrari once again got the holeshot but turn 3 demanded more attention, with the Italian sliding out on his own while Xavier Simeon’s crash wiped out title rival Dominique Aegerter and Niccolo Canepa. After that dramatic start, Torres found himself one second ahead, with Niki Tuuli his main challenger but getting harassed by Mike Di Meglio and Josh Hook. However, Torres’ advantage did not last as the pursuers regrouped and the Spaniard was reeled in by Di Meglio and Tuuli, leaving Hook behind. The Frenchman tried to line up a move but never made one and Torres scored his first victory in the class to swing the championship lead his way. Di Meglio settled for second on home soil and Tuuli made a long overdue return to the podium, with Hook and Tommaso Marcon joining the top five – the Italian having started 11th with a grid penalty.

Class rookie Torres will enter tomorrow’s title decider 18 points ahead of Ferrari, while Aegerter managed to rejoin and get a couple points to trail the leader by 20.

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