As 2023 dawns, Energica is no longer the sole electric motorcycle manufacturer and supplier to the FIM MotoE series. Still, that doesn’t mean the company has no more love in its heart for racing. In fact, it chose February 14 as the day to announce that it’s entering a new racing series this year—and one that may come as a bit of a surprise to racing fans.
For 2023, Energica will officially be entering an Eva Ribelle into MotoAmerica’s 2023 Super Hooligan National Championship. That means it will compete against a host of combustion machines—and in so doing, become the first electric brand to compete full-time in a racing series where it’s doing exactly that.
Previously, while we may have seen electric bikes (and occasionally scooters in exhibition events) race one another, it’s usually been kept to racing bikes that are powered the same way against one another. It’s not clear how the Eva Ribelle will fare against the rest of the field, but it’s interesting that Energica and Wisconsin-based Tytlers Cycle Racing are keen to test their skills against the rest of the field.
As an example, some of the other machines that could be found in the 2022 Super Hooligans field included Indian FTR1200s, KTM 890 Duke Rs, a Ducati Hypermotard 950 SP, and a BMW R nineT. Who’s going to pilot the Energica Eva Ribelle in the series? None other than experienced racer Stefano Mesa, who you can see racing a Tytlers Cycle Racing Energica Eva Ribelle RS in this video, which shows the final round of the 2022 Super Hooligans series at Weathertech Laguna Seca Raceway in California.
“I’m super-excited to be riding the Energica Eva Ribelle for Tytlers Cycle Racing in the Super Hooligan National Championship,” Mesa said in a statement.
“I’m looking forward to racing it at all four rounds with all the ‘gassers’ out there. Last year, we did a little test-run on a standard bike at Laguna Seca, and it definitely didn’t disappoint. With very little testing, we went into that race weekend not knowing what the outcome would be. The whole team was very pleased with how things turned out so, this year, they decided to try and do it again with a more race-ready bike. Racing an electric bike at Daytona will be a challenge given the track layout and the total lack of references, but the team and I are happy and ready for the challenge. We’re excited to see what we can do with more seat time,” he concluded.
The 2023 Super Hooligans series will be on the MotoAmerica race slate for four race weekends this season. Here are those dates and venues:
