2025 | Hot Racing | Li Ruey Yun Secures Podium Finish as Hikari Okubo Takes Victory in a Strong MotoRC Weekend

The third MotoRC round concluded with strong results for the riders associated with the Hot Racing project, the weekend bringing both a podium finish in the S300 CFMOTO class through Li Ruey Yun and a spectacular victory secured by Hikari Okubo after an initially unplanned participation.

Podium finish and steady progress for Li Ruey Yun in S300 CFMOTO

Competing in Romania for the first time, Li Ruey Yun delivered a consistent performance throughout the weekend, culminating in a third-place finish in the S300 CFMOTO class.

The Taiwanese rider demonstrated rapid adaptation to both the circuit and the MotoRC championship format, setting a competitive lap time of 2:06.6 — a performance that secured her podium result in a closely contested class.

The result confirmed the main objective of her debut — rapid integration and experience building — while exceeding expectations through a consistent presence in the fight for top positions.

Unexpected participation for Hikari Okubo

Although he was not originally scheduled to compete in the round, Hikari Okubo was invited to ride the Chronos Racing team’s Yamaha R9, a motorcycle still far from a fully developed race configuration.

Saturday’s Sprint race was marked by incidents, with the rider running off track toward the end of the race. Even under these circumstances, Okubo managed to finish in fifth position, using the race primarily as an extended adaptation session with the motorcycle.

Victory in the main race after progressive adaptation

In Sunday’s main race, the progress became evident. Gradually adapting to the motorcycle’s behavior, the Hot Racing rider consistently increased his pace and went on to secure victory, also setting a lap time of 1:41.3 — a notable performance considering the motorcycle was running in a configuration still close to its road specification.

The success confirmed the Japanese rider’s ability to extract performance even from a technical package still under development, turning an occasional appearance into one of the weekend’s major results.

Preparation for the Endurance World Championship finale

Participation in the MotoRC round served as valuable competitive preparation for Okubo ahead of the FIM Endurance World Championship finale, the 24 Hours of Le Mans Bol d’Or race held at Circuit Paul Ricard.

There, the rider will aim to secure the Superstock class title together with Team Étoile #25.

The MotoRC weekend therefore concluded with a positive overall outcome: an international debut confirmed by a podium finish and a victory achieved in an unexpected technical context — both results highlighting the progress and versatility of the riders involved.