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Organisers of the MotoE World Cup have disclosed what they believe to be the cause of the fire which destroyed all 18 bikes after Day 1 of the Jerez test.
Fire ripped through the specially constructed, temporary paddock in the early hours of Thursday morning (local time) at the Spanish circuit, resulting in the cancellation of the first round of the inaugural season.
Dorna, the MotoGP commercial rights holder, had already advised that no bikes were charging at the time of the ignition.
It has now announced preliminary findings that a short circuit caused the high-density battery which is used to charge the bikes to ignite.
“Although we are awaiting the official conclusion of the investigation by local police, initial evidence regarding the cause of the fire at the E-paddock of the FIM Enel MotoE World Cup at the Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto on March 14th seems to point to a short circuit as the main cause of the incident,” began a statement from Dorna.
“The source of the short circuit has yet to be identified but, once the fire broke out, it ignited the high-density battery which is part of the high-performance charger used at MotoE events.
“The motorbikes were not connected to the charging infrastructure at the time the fire began,” it concluded.
The 2019 season is still set to take place, albeit to a modified calendar which has not yet been confirmed.
See below for footage of the fire from LCR sporting director Oscar Haro.
VIDEO: The fire in Jerez
All Moto E… pic.twitter.com/8dLDOJhhyK
— Oscar Haro Tasende (@OSCARHAROTASEND) March 14, 2019
