Hikari Okubo finishes the first race of the weekend at Assen in thirteenth

Hikari Okubo completed the first race of the fourth round of the FIM MotoE World Cup in thirteenth place, fighting his way back from last on the grid.

Friday had been a difficult day for the Avant Ajo MotoE rider, who was hindered by a mechanical issue and the cancelation of MotoE FP2 due to heavy rain. Whilst Q1 was held in dry conditions, the Avant Ajo MotoE rider crashed at the start of the run and was unable to continue. Having failed to register a time, Okubo classified in the last position on the grid, 18th. 

Okubo faced the first MotoE race of the weekend having practically enjoyed zero track time. Despite this, the Japanese rider climbed several positions to reach 14th off the start. When the group split, he dropped back two places, but recovered to claim 13th at the chequered flag.

The second MotoE race at the Round 4 will be held on Sunday at 3:30 PM local time, contested over 8 laps.

Results (Race 1)
1. Dominique Aegerter 13:55.704
2. Eric Granado +0.072
3. Mattia Casadei +0.081
4. Matteo Ferrari +0.507
5. Hector Garzo +0.960
13. Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo MotoE) +12.834

#78 HIKARI OKUBO

“It was a difficult day, because yesterday we couldn’t put in practically any laps due to issues with the bike. Finally we were permitted to start the race from the back of the grid. It wasn’t easy as we had to understand the behaviour of the bike – which we didn’t manage to do. Even so, we were able to climb positions. Tomorrow we hope to do better and be able to fight for a good result.”