Dorna: MotoE 2019 season will go ahead despite cancelled opener
MotoGP support series MotoE says its inaugural 2019 season will go ahead, despite having had to cancel the planned Jerez opener after all its bikes were lost in a fire


The 18 Energica Ego Corsa bikes that were set to contest the campaign were destroyed when the MotoE paddock caught fire overnight after the opening day of pre-season testing at Jerez.
The cause of the fire is currently being investigated, but the latest statement by the organisers clarifies that "no motorcycles were charging at the time of the incident in the box in which the fire started".
In the same statement, it was confirmed that the opening race of the season, which was to be held on May 5 at the same Jerez venue during MotoGP's Spanish Grand Prix weekend, will not be taking place.
"Dorna Sports and all our partners in this new venture are committed to getting the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup back on track as soon as possible, with work already underway to begin rebuilding and replacing materials and motorcycles lost in the fire," the statement read.
"MotoE will race in 2019 and a revised calendar will be announced in due course."
It is understood that the organisers have mooted the possibility to kick off the season during the French Grand Prix weekend at Le Mans.
Le Mans was initially scheduled to host the second round of the campaign two weeks after the Jerez date.
The rest of the original calendar was comprised of a Sachsenring race in July, a race at the Red Bull Ring in August and a double-header finale in Misano.
However, it is also understood that the series will look to add another date to the schedule in place of the cancelled Jerez race so as to restore a five-round calendar.

Aprilia says it was told Ducati-style Qatar winglet is illegal
Ducati could protest Honda after row over winglet legality in Qatar

Latest news
Former Audi boss Dieter Gass joins Jota to lead WEC Hypercar programme
Former Audi motorsport boss Dieter Gass is joining the Jota team ahead of its move into the Hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship with a new Porsche 963.
Alpine announces full driver line-up for two car WEC LMP2 attack
Alpine has named the six drivers that will compete for the team in the FIA World Endurance Championship on its step down to the LMP2 division.
Horner: F1 drivers shouldn’t be “robots” amid ban on political statements
Red Bull Racing boss Christian Horner has cautioned Formula 1 drivers should not be a “load of robots” in the wake of the FIA’s new restrictions on making statements.
NASCAR Cup LA Coliseum: Truex wins chaotic Clash race
Martin Truex Jr held off Richard Childress Racing team-mates Austin Dillon and Kyle Busch to win the NASCAR Cup pre-season Clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The other Suzuki signing that could transform Honda's MotoGP form
Following Suzuki's decision to quit MotoGP, both of its former riders have landed at Honda for 2023. But perhaps its biggest signing from the now-defunct team could instead be a highly-rated technical manager. Is Ken Kawauchi the right man at the right time to steer HRC back to glory?
How the MotoGP paddock has offered refuge to Suzuki's former team
Suzuki's unexpected departure left more than 40 professionals virtually jobless for the 2023 MotoGP season. But that human drama has been successfully corrected by the paddock itself, with most former Suzuki crew-members absorbed into other operations
How one MotoGP team went from title fights to losing it all in four years
The Petronas Sepang Racing Team came into MotoGP with a bang in 2019 as regular front-runners, with wonder rookie Fabio Quartararo mounting a title challenge in 2020. But it all went wrong for the Razlan Razali-helmed squad as the team changed hands and tumbled down the order - and RNF Racing plans to right this in 2023
Is MotoGP's comeback king ready to reclaim his throne?
Marc Marquez’s sixth premier MotoGP title seems a long time ago given the injury woes he has faced in the three years since. At the end of a fraught 2022, in which he had a fourth major operation on his right arm, the Spaniard speaks exclusively to Autosport
How MotoGP’s underachiever is working to reverse its fortunes in 2023
As European manufacturers emerged as the strongest force in 2022 in a changing of the guard for MotoGP, one powerhouse couldn’t quite match the feats of Ducati and Aprilia. Its motorsport chief tells Autosport why this is and what it is doing to become a consistent frontrunner in the class of kings
How MotoGP riders are preparing for the physical stress of sprint races
With the expansion of the calendar to 21 grands prix and the introduction of sprint races, the 2023 MotoGP season will take the riders to almost 1,300 kilometres of competition more than this year, a factor that forces adjustments in their physical preparations.
The Ducati rider who is much more than just the brother of a MotoGP legend
Surname pressure is something many have had to deal with in their motorsport careers. And while Luca Marini doesn’t have that, his familial relation and the team he rides for in MotoGP have cast a brighter spotlight on his progress. But, as he has shown in 2022 – and as he reveals to Autosport – Marini is so much more than just the brother of a legend
Ranking the top 10 riders of MotoGP 2022
The 2022 MotoGP season was another hotly contested championship, with Francesco Bagnaia emerging as the title winner after the campaign went to the wire. Autosport picks out the 10 best performers of the season
Subscribe and access Autosport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.