The Avant Ajo MotoE rider lowers his times from morning to afternoon, going fourth on the combined FP1 and FP2 timesheets.

Round 4 of the 2021 FIM MotoE World Cup season started on Friday, as the series took to the legendary Assen circuit for the first time ever. Despite the changing weather conditions, Hikari Okubo used the two Free Practice sessions of the day to gather information about the track and apply it to find the best setup for his bike. The Japanese rider finished fourth in the combined FP1 and FP2 standings.

In the morning, in dry conditions, Hikari Okubo had his first experience of Assen aboard a MotoE bike. The Avant Ajo MotoE rider ran a total of 10 laps, finishing FP1 in fifth place as he stopped the clock at 1:44.378 on his penultimate attempt.

In the FP2, the Japanese had to navigate mixed conditions due to rain that fell in the early afternoon, stopping shortly before the start of the session. Okubo took little time to lower his personal best from the morning and would conclude the pratcice fourth thanks to a 1:43.678. The Avant Ajo MotoE rider set it on his fourth lap of a total of nine.

The Avant Ajo MotoE rider will have a final Free Practice session on Saturday morning, before the fourth E-Pole of 2021 takes place at 4:10 PM local time.

Results (Combined practice times FP1-FP2)
1. Alessandro Zaccone 1:42.809
2. Eric Granado 1:43.048 +0.239
3. Lukas Tulovic 1:43.267 +0.458
4. Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) 1:43.678 +0.869
5. Dominique Aegerter 1:43.753 +0.944

78 HIKARI OKUBO

“It was a great day and we eventually finished fourth. We tested various setups for our bike, as we had never ridden at this track with the MotoE, and today it was very important to get information on which version of our machine best suits Assen. I’m happy about this as we drew some valuable conclusions. For tomorrow, we will see what the weather conditions are like, since it varies constantly here. However, regardless of whether it rains or not, we will do our best to get a good result – without forgetting to enjoy ourselves.”