Avant Ajo MotoE will run Hikari Okubo as their official rider for the 2021 FIM Enel MotoE™ World Cup season. In the team's third campaign in the competition, they will fight for good results with the Japanese in their ranks, as he debuts in the series after coming through the World Supersport Championship. Okubo replaces Niki Tuuli, who was the first-ever MotoE™ race winner with the team in 2019.
Okubo was born on August 11th, 1993, in Koraida, a city west of Tokyo. The Japanese rider enjoyed success in Asian competitions, taking the title in the 125cc class of the All Japan Road Race Championship in 2010 and in the inaugural season of the Asia Dream Cup in 2012. From 2016 he competed in the World Supersport Championship, where he progressed to become a consistent rider and managed to finish fifth in the overall standings in 2019.
The rider and the team will begin work with the first FIM MotoE World Cup test of the year, held between March 2nd and 4th at the Jerez-Angel Nieto Circuit. The 2021 season will feature 6 rounds and a total of 7 races, starting on May 2nd with the Spanish Grand Prix.
Aki Ajo - Team Manager: "I am very happy to be starting our third season in the FIM MotoE World Cup with Hikari Okubo, a Japanese talent who comes into the series off a solid spell in motorcycle racing. I am also pleased to see that the championship is evolving and improving with each year that goes by. Hikari has a lot of experience since he has just competed in the World Supersport Championship. He has a long history of riding big bikes, and I'm sure this will help him to adapt well to our machine. Both the team and I are looking forward to starting to work together this year."
Hikari Okubo: I'm very happy to be part of the Avant Ajo MotoE team. Many Japanese have represented this family, so I have always held it in high regard. I know we can have strong races together. I will be the first Asian rider to compete in the FIM MotoE World Cup, so it is a very important step and I want to have some great achievements in the future of Japanese motorcycling. This season will not only be a personal milestone, but also a challenge for the new generation of Asian motorcycle talents. I can't wait to start working with my sights set on the title. If I win it, it would be a dream come true. I know that we have the potential to do great things, so I am going to do my best at every round this year."