MotoE - In the Spanish GP Okubo confirms himself among the best in the category

MotoE - In the Spanish GP Okubo confirms himself among the best in the category
MotoE Spanish GP Okubo
Positive weekend in Jerez for Hikari Okubo

MotoE - In the Spanish GP, Hikari Okubo, Avant Ajo team MotoE rider, achieved the sixth place in Race 1 and the fifth in Race 2 in the first round of the MotoE World Cup 2022, at the Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto.

The Jerez-Angel Nieto circuit hosted the first two races of the fourth edition of the MotoE World Cup, in a weekend characterized by good weather and high temperatures. Hikari Okubo, in his second year in MotoE, once again completed two excellent races, fighting for the podium and getting a sixth and a fifth place. With the points scored in the Spanish round, the Japanese rider is now fifth in the standings.
the next round of the MotoE World Cup is in two weeks on the French track of Le Mans for the French GP.

Aki Ajo - Avant Ajo MotoE Team Manager
“It was a really good start to the season. This year the MotoE is “different” because we have many more races; we have made a solid start. Hikari really showed this weekend that he has experience in the class and ran two really smart races. He has also shown that he has the potential to fight for the podium in the future. I am really satisfied ”.

MotoE Spanish GP Okubo

Hikari Okubo (Avant Ajo driver MotoE) - 5th and 6th in the Spanish GP of MotoE
“Friday was a very busy day. We have a different schedule this year and the qualification system is completely different. In 2021, on Friday we only had free practices, but now we also have the qualifying in the afternoon - for the first time in the history of the electric class, the qualifying session took place with the Q1 and Q2 format - For me, this is a big difference . As for this round, I am very happy because I qualified directly for Q2. I didn't have a bad feeling, even I made some mistakes in Q2 ”.
Okubo participated directly to the Q2, together with the other best riders of the day. In Q2, the Japanese set his best time of 1:49.001 which secured him the eighth position on the grid.

MotoE Spanish GP Okubo

“Saturday was not an easy day. I set my best lap during the race, lowering my fastest qualifying lap by 0,5 seconds so I could keep up with the leading group. I didn't have a chance to overtake and I remained calm in the group. I was lucky with the crash in front and a penalty to another rider gave us the sixth position, so it wasn't a bad result for the first race of the championship.
On Sunday I had a good second race. We tried to fight for the podium, but the other leading riders today were stronger than me. We had an excellent feeling, better than in Race 1. We took important points for the championship and thanks to this we are fifth overall. Overall, it was a great start to the season and we have shown that we have the potential to fight for a top position this year. Now is the time to focus on the next round of Le Mans, where we will give 100% to try and get a good result ”.

Photos: motogp.com and Avant Ajo MotoE team

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