The Avant Ajo MotoE rider claims his best grid position of the 2021 FIM MotoE World Cup, with fourth place at Round 5.

Avant Ajo MotoE and Hikari Okubo enjoyed a great day at Round 5 of the 2021 FIM MotoE World Cup, held alongside the Austrian Grand Prix. The Japanese rider was fourth in the E-Pole qualifying session, for his best grid position so far this year. With today’s result Okubo secured a spot on the second row for tomorrow’s race.

Okubo contested FP3 in the morning, which, unlike the previous rounds, was held at 8:15 AM. Track conditions were different to usual and required more cautious riding. At the end of the session, the Avant Ajo MotoE rider was 13th after stopping the clock at 1:36.528 on his second lap of eight.

In the afternoon, Okubo was the eighth competitor to hit the track for the E-Pole. The Japanese did his best to complete a lap without making mistakes and achieved his personal best time of the weekend: a 1:35.592. Finally, the Avant Ajo MotoE rider placed fourth, just 2 tenths off the pole position.

Tomorrow at 3:30 PM local time, the Avant Ajo MotoE rider will start what will be the fifth race of the 2021 season, scheduled for 7 laps.

Results (Qualifying session)
1. Fermin Aldeguer 1:35.306
2. Lukas Tulovic 1:35.353 +0.047
3. Matteo Ferrari 1:35.546 +0.240
4. Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) 1:35.592 +0.286
5. Alessandro Zaccone 1:35.597 +0.291

78 HIKARI OKUBO

“I’m happy to have taken fourth on the grid for tomorrow. It is our best qualifying performance of the year, which makes me face the race with a very positive mindset. We changed the setup of the bike a little compared to FP3 this morning, which allowed me to lower my times. My mechanics did a great job. On Sunday, we will see a large group in the contest, as the times are so tight. In any case, we will do our best to achieve a good result.”