The Avant Ajo MotoE rider finishes in third position in the first race of Round 2, held today at Le Mans.

The legendary Le Mans track hosted Hikari Okubo’s first podium finish in the FIM MotoE World Cup this Saturday. The Avant Ajo MotoE rider placed third in the first race of Round 2 of the 2022 season, which takes place this weekend alongside the French Grand Prix. Thanks to this result, the team earned their fourth trophy in the electric competition.

Okubo made a great start from the second row of the grid, moving from sixth to third on the opening corner. The Japanese rider pushed hard, but the two riders at the head of the race managed to open a small gap. The Avant Ajo MotoE talent rode alone and kept up his pace, until two laps from the end he was caught and overtaken by one of his rivals. A crash for a competitor ahead of him moved Okubo up a place and onto the rostrum.

On Sunday at 3:30 PM local time, Okubo will compete in the second race of the weekend, also scheduled for 8 laps.

Results – Race 1

1. Mattia Casadei 13:54.984
2. Dominique Aegerter +0.826
3. Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) +1.223
4. Matteo Ferrari +1.701
5. Hector Garzo +5.754

MotoE World Cup Standing 2022

1. Eric Granado 59 points
2. Dominique Aegerter 53 points
3. Mattia Casadei 41 points
4. Matteo Ferrari 39 points
5. Miquel Pons 38 points
6. Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) 37 points

78 HIKARI OKUBO

“I am very happy to have achieved my first podium in this series. The objective this round was to be in the Top 3 and we have achieved it, so we feel very satisfied. Today’s race was not easy, but even so I gave one hundred percent to fight with my rivals and get this result. We started well and we pushed hard since the beginning, but the riders in the front group were faster than me. After that, a rival overtook me, however finally he crashed, and we achieved our first podium. This result and the points are important for the championship. Tomorrow, we have another opportunity, in the second race of Round 2, where we will try to be at the front again.”