Alessandro Zaccone, MotoE's last king, comes full circle: "The day that might never have come

Friday, 21 November 2025 at 19:10

Alessandro Zaccone, 2025 MotoE World Champion: the satisfaction of a lifetime before Supersport. His emotions in our interview

He chased it for years, came close in 2021 in the Energica era (before a bad crash in the final round), and finally came the crowning moment at the Portimão round. Alessandro Zaccone, an Aruba Cloud rider this year, is the final MotoE world champion, a result earned through standout performances and consistency alike, allowing him to close the circle. The electric class of the Motorcycle World Championship is now in the books, but the 26-year-old from Rimini has taken the greatest confidence boost of his life, which will surely accompany him into his new Supersport challenge. A return, since he already raced there in 2016 and 2017, yet also a new chapter in his career.

Alessandro Zaccone, you’re a world champion!

When people say it to me I even feel a bit embarrassed [laughs]. It feels strange, let’s say. It’s a pity how the category ended, it could’ve been managed much better... But what matters is we finished well, so we’re happy with that!

You came close in 2021, got injured in the last round, then started over... A circle closed, right?

I had a bit of a debt with MotoE. It turned out to be the last season, and of all the years I think this was the one with the highest level. That makes it an even bigger satisfaction!

What’s your assessment of your season?

It started pretty well, at Le Mans we immediately took pole position and a podium. Right after that though, we had a zero... The biggest problem, however, was they brought a new front tire. At Assen we had the old compound and in fact we won; with the 2025 tire I always struggled a bit. That said, despite this, I never overdid it and always managed to bring home points: I’m very sensitive; if I don’t feel good on the bike I don’t push at all costs. That’s something that paid off. During the season, though, we left quite a few points on the table: in some races we weren’t very competitive, penalties we could’ve avoided, a few mistakes of mine... But it still went well, and not having any more zeros helped.

You win with big results but also with consistency, right?

It helped us. In some races there were rivals who were faster but crashed and came away with nothing. In the end, we did better. In the past there were championships where, unfortunately, I didn’t do better because of these errors; experience helped too.

The goal at the start of the year is always the same, but when did you really think you could win the title?

After Race 1 at Portimão! The season started well, but after the zero we were far back in the standings, so it was a chase. Little by little we got closer and closer, then at Misano we had a great weekend and that’s when I started to think we could go for it. The points gap was tiny, only 5, and with rivals like Casadei and Ferrari that’s nothing—you can’t do any calculations. Also because last year at Portimão I was always fast but didn’t bring home anything: in Race 1 I hit Torres, in Race 2 I got a double Long Lap. I knew I could be fast, but I didn’t know how much, while for example Mattia had won and finished 2nd! Let’s say not all the arrows were in my quiver. Instead this year we had a great weekend, even if very troubled: it started badly, but we salvaged it.

What happened? Walk us through the Portimão weekend.

I’d had an upset stomach a week before, but when I got there I started feeling really bad at night... In the first practice we were ninth, in practice we chose the wrong tires and missed Q2, so it all looked grim. In qualifying it started to rain and I’ve always struggled massively in the wet with the MotoE—you almost think it’s over... But this time the bike was perfect and I took pole position! That’s when I started to believe again, even if it wasn’t easy. I really wanted to win Race 1 by force, even though I wasn’t feeling right and the bike was moving like crazy, and with Mattia 4th the gap became 17 points: it wasn’t done, but we’d laid an important brick. Race 2 then went well, even though they tried to torpedo me in every way [laughs]. But we got it done.

And health-wise?

I had a weekend... It turned out I had an inflamed gallbladder, at night I felt really awful. I even went to the Medical Center; they wanted to take me to the hospital because they suspected appendicitis, but I thought about the championship and said no! I was a bit down, though—I had to do the most important races of my life on one hour’s sleep...

But you’re a racer, so some extra strength shows up, right?

[laughs] I have to say I’m very surprised; that weekend I found a strength and focus I’d never had before, not like that. I’m very happy!

You cross the line, you’re world champion. Was there a first thought?

No, it was like my mind emptied of everything—it was hard to process. You don’t know what to do, what to say... I burst into tears, it was a powerful emotion: you work your whole life to get to that day and it’s unlikely to happen; that day might never come. There are those guys who are destined, others have to work so hard, they suffer for it, and it has a different flavor. Realizing it is something beautiful; in an instant you shed all the pressure you were carrying and tell yourself that yes, you did it.

What does this result mean to you?

It’s a result that gives you so much self-belief and the urge to do even more, things I want to carry into next year. But the very next day I was already working on a car in the shop—A friend needed a hand and I went right away [laughs]

You’re returning to the World Supersport Championship, but we can say it’ll all be new, right?

I’m happy to be back! When I was there I was young, it was my first time racing outside Italy and I only did the European series, whereas this time it’ll be the full World Championship. Supersport is a category that’s regained momentum and, as of today, the only one that, if you work well, lets you move forward. It came together a bit at the last minute; I won’t hide that I was worried because it’s not easy to find another seat at the end of September, but we made it happen. We’ll try to give 100% to do well!