Immediately following the news of the partnership, Stefano Mesa piloted Energica Eva Ribelle RS sporting its striking PETRONAS colors to a season best at rounds three and four of the 2023 Super Hooligan National Championship at The Ridge Motorsports Park. The Colombian crossed the line in sixth place at the end of the seven-lap, second race of the weekend. However, both the first and second placed Indian motorcycles were disqualified due to a technical breach, leaving Mesa in fourth position.
Race one saw Mesa crossing the line in seventh place after starting from the back of the grid – dramatically cutting “like a knife through butter” (as one of the race announcers exclaimed) as he rapidly made his way up to eighth position and then gained one more place just before the chequered flag. He was able to make his final move on AJ Peaslee (riding an ICE-powered KTM machine) in part because the latter – by his own words – had a hard time hearing him coming through!
“The electric gives me a smoother acceleration and much easier control and focus because I don’t have to shift in order to have the right horsepower or torque at the rear wheel,” explains Mesa. “On the other hand, the bike makes so much torque that we have to find a way to tame it for a course like this, with so many turns and so many twists.”
Energica’s presence as the first and only electric motorcycle manufacturer in the full series keeps attracting an intense level of attention and curiosity from fans, motorcycle enthusiasts, fellow racers and other insiders. As one spectator said to his friends while walking past Tytlers Cycle Racing’s tent “this is the future.”
