Sparks will fly in Sheffield’s Utilita Arena when Sondre Haga (GASGAS) and Gaël Chatagno (Electric Motion) give electric motorcycles a super-charged debut at the DL12 Indoor Trial V3.0 on Saturday 18th January 2025.
Established as the spiritual home of Indoor Trial in Britain all the way back in 1996, history will be made in the New Year at the iconic venue when a capacity Sheffield audience will be treated to the distinctive high-pitched hum of powerful electric motors for the very first time.
The riders chosen to spearhead the electric invasion of Steel City are the best e-pilots in the sport with twenty-five-year-old Haga and twenty-eight-year-old Chatagno bookending the 2024 FIM Trial2 World Championship with victories. Haga claimed a first-ever win for electric motorcycles at this level on the opening day of round one in Japan in May and Chatagno signed off with victory on the last day of action in Spain in September.
Norwegian rider Haga, who won the 2022 Trial2 title on a petrol-powered machine, made headlines around the world with his victory while with his win Chatagno, from Marseilles in the south of France, hammered home the message that electric powerplants are every bit as competitive as conventional engines.
“I have great memories from Sheffield,” said Haga, who competed at the first DL12 Indoor Trial, but failed to progress beyond the heat stage. “The crowds are crazy in England. I know the sections will be hard as always, so we just need to keep developing and keep pushing hard during the winter.”
Chatagno, winner of the 2021 FIM Trial-E title, is an experienced Indoor and ‘Urban’ Trial competitor who has been at the forefront of electric motorcycle development since joining forces with Electric Motion in 2019.
“I'm very happy to be invited to the DL12 Indoor Trial,” he said. “It's a legendary competition that I've watched every year since I was a kid. To be able to take part is an honour and a great motivation for me!”
Having proved how effective an electric motorcycle can be in the right hands in outdoor competition, Haga is on a mission to show they can also cut it over the type of extreme hazards that feature in top-flight Indoor Trial events.
“Personally, I love indoors,” he said. “We haven’t really tried a lot of indoor stuff yet, so it’s gonna be a new experience and I’m really looking forward to trying it and learning new stuff.”
With five years of experience of the electric Motion machine, Chatagno has had a ringside seat throughout the development process and after scoring points at round four of this year’s FIM X-Trial World Championship in Geneva in May feels confident it has what it takes.
“The EM Epure FACTOR-e is now more than capable of riding at the highest level of Indoor Trial,” he added. “The bike has evolved enormously with its new engine, gearbox and battery. To be honest, everything has changed for the better and it's a real pleasure to follow the progress of this project.”
Tickets for the DL12 Indoor Trial V3.0 on Saturday 18th January 2025 at the Utilita Arena, Sheffield, are selling fast. To make sure of the best seats in house to witness this electrifying and historic occasion book now.