What better scenario than your home race to fulfill your dream of becoming world champion? Mattia Casadei, who won the MotoE title right in front of his audience, can tell it. The Pons team driver arrived at Misano as championship leader and triumphed in Race 1, closing the games with one race to spare before the season finale. It was an electrifying Saturday for the entirely electric category, which sees a triumph of Italians at the top of the world: Mattia Casadei is in fact the first world champion of the Ducati era, which debuted this year in MotoE in place of Energica.
The championship leader, his compatriot Matteo Ferrari and Jordi Torres were fighting for the title until the end, with the latter having already lost hope at the traffic lights: jump start for him and a double Long Lap Penalty which condemns him to watch your direct rivals from afar. With the final tenth position, the Spaniard saw his dream of the third championship fade away, but Matteo Ferrari also had a few too many obstacles: in qualifying he had been disqualified at the end of qualifying due to tire pressures lower than the minimum allowed. An uphill race for him, which ended in sixth position which was not enough to win his second world title.
Title and victory for Casadei, who beat Hector Garzo in the sprint by just 21 thousandths. The Spaniard tried the attack until the checkered flag, only to then finish in second position ahead of Nicholas Spinelli, an excellent third. Lots of Italy also behind the top three, with Kevin Manfredi and Kevin Zannoni in fourth and fifth place respectively. Behind is the aforementioned Ferrari, ahead of Alessandro Zaccone, seventh. Alessio Finello was twelfth, while Andrea Mantovani and Andrea Migno ended up in the gravel.
The Pons team concludes its adventure in the world championship in style: after Mattia Casadei’s title, Nicolas Spinelli also achieved victory in the last race of the season. First success for the Abruzzo native, who closed 2023 on a high note by playing the Inno de’ Mameli again at home. Podium also repeated in Race 2, but with positions reversed, after a great battle, Spinelli beat Garzo by 126 thousandths while Casadei, fresh from the title, finished third.
Wooden medal for Jordi Torres, who with fourth position in Race 2 definitively secured second position in the championship, closing 2023 as vice-world champion. The Spaniard took advantage of a penalty to Andrea Mantovani, who had to give up a position for going beyond the limits of the track. Torres thus finished ahead of Matteo Ferrari by just one point. The Gresini team rider finished seventh behind Mantovani and Kevin Zannoni, sixth. Alessandro Zaccone finished Race 2 in tenth position, with Andrea Migno 14th and Alessio Finello 15th. Kevin Manfredi closed the group in 18th position.
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