Ai Ogura self-critical after strong comeback: “I wasn’t fast enough”

Ai Ogura got off to a disastrous start in his home Grand Prix on Friday. At the start of the MotoGP qualifying session, he was forced to pull his smoking Aprilia over to the side of the track due to engine failure. After that, the Japanese rider struggled to find a good rhythm – he had to contend with his front wheel locking up in the hard braking zones. In the end, the Trackhouse Aprilia rider finished 15th, meaning he had to compete in Q1 on Saturday. There, Ogura set the fastest time, securing his place in Q2. In the second qualifying session, however, he could only manage 11th on the grid.

In the MotoGP Sprint at Twin Ring Motegi, Ogura then got off to a flying start. By lap 2, he had already made up six places – he also benefited from the mass crash involving Alex Márquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Pedro Acosta.

“I got off to a good start; the first two corners were very good. Then I benefited from the crash in front of me, which allowed me to make up further positions. So I had a good first lap,” Ogura described the opening stages during the subsequent media session. “After that, I rode at my own pace, but my speed wasn’t good enough. That was it.”

On the fourth lap, Ogura was overtaken by the charging rookie Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda). A lap later, Ogura overtook his Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi, who, like Jack Miller, was on a medium rear tyre. After that, Ogura put in a consistent performance in fifth place until he made a small mistake on the penultimate lap. As his lead over ‘Bez’ was big enough, he held on to fifth place as he crossed the finish line.

Ai Ogura: “Everyone had their difficulties”

“It was quite difficult again,” smiled the 25-year-old. How did he get on with tyre wear? “I think it was the same for everyone. After the race, the tyres didn’t look too good, but everyone had their difficulties with that.”

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As for the tyre choice for the 24-lap Grand Prix, Ai Ogura ventured a prediction: “I think everyone will be running the medium-medium combination.” He’ll have to start from 11th on the grid again on Sunday. “Yes, it’ll be another difficult start.”