The electric category of the World Championship reaches the halfway point of the season with the key factor of a new venue where no races have been held so far

Usually, as the races go by, the favourites tend to start to stand out from the rest and it becomes clear who will be fighting for the title in the final phase of the season. This is not the case in the MotoE category, at least for now. In Le Mans and Assen, Andrea Mantovani and Alessandro Zaccone stood out, with one victory and two podiums each, that helped them to excel over their rivals in a standing in which they had 74 and 61 points, respectively. With nine riders within fifty points, the MotoE grid headed to Austria, where more familiar names such as Matteo Ferrari, Héctor Garzó, Eric Granado and Mattia Casadei shone. This, together with a less remarkable performance by the Italians who lead the competition, means that they all arrive in Hungary, at Balaton Park, even closer together. There are eleven riders within 50 points, the same number of points that will be up for grabs in the two races on Saturday, where anything can happen.

Power Electronics Aspar faces the unknown this weekend, on a track that is hosting the World Championship for the first time and which is bringing back the Hungarian Grand Prix 33 years after its second and last edition to date. Balaton Park will host the fourth round of the season for Jordi Torres and Kevin Zannoni. The Spaniard is confident that its strong braking zones will help him make up ground on the fastest riders and thus close in on the category leader. Despite his results at the Austrian Grand Prix, Torres only lost one point to Mantovani and is fourth overall, 21 points off the Italian. His teammate Kevin Zannoni has had the opportunity to get to know the Hungarian circuit during the summer break, something he hopes to take advantage of to climb positions in the standings after two weekends in which he has been unable to fight for a repeat of the podium he achieved at Le Mans. The Italian is ninth in the standings with 49 points, 39 behind the leader and only 20 off the third-placed rider.

Jordi Torres: “I've tried to get to know the circuit as much as possible with the simulator, as we haven't ridden there yet. There are riders who have trained at Balaton, but that's not my case. I find it quite attractive, although there are some very slow sections, which may penalise us when it comes to acceleration. However, it also has some very heavy braking sections where we can gain some advantage. We will try to be competitive from the start and get some good references quickly. It is a small circuit, favourable for MotoE, and it can be fun. Until we get there, we won't know how it will really go, but we will try to give our best from the start.”

Kevin Zannoni: "In Austria we had some problems because I can't get comfortable with the changes that have been introduced this year. This week we have another opportunity to continue working and try to improve the situation. I had the opportunity to ride in Hungary with my bike, so I already know the circuit. I like the track, it has a lot of heavy braking and slow chicanes. We will take advantage of the fact that I already know the track to try to take that step forward that we need."