MotoE has released a statement regarding Niki Tuuli’s bike catching fire at Red Bull Ring circuit during the MotoGP weekend.
A second fire incident has taken place in the MotoE paddock after the first one destroyed the whole make-shift paddock ahead of the inaugural season, which eventually delayed the start of the season.
While the first one took place during the official test, the second one happened during a race weekend at Red Bull Ring in Austria, where the bike of Ajo Motorsport’s Tuuli caught fire while charging.
The Finn is the current leader of the 2019 MotoE championship after winning the German GP at Sachsenring, which was the first round in the season. The fire has been doused as per the statement from MotoE/MotoGP.
The statement read as: “An investigation is currently underway to determine the reasons behind the fire that broke out today at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, where the second round of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup is currently taking place.
“The incident involved bike #66 of Niki Tuuli and happened during the charging process of the motorcycle. The fire was immediately extinguished by the fire department and the action was performed in complete safety. MotoE action will continue as scheduled.”
While the organisers have confirmed that the weekend will go as per schedule, it is not clear if Tuuli is riding the same bike or has been given a second one. It is also not clear about the extent of the damage at this stage.
The second fire incident comes as a surprise, especially with the FIA Formula E Championship facing no such issues, despite running at a much larger scale as a lead event rather than MotoE, which is a support event.