Ai Ogura after qualifying for Q2 on his comeback: “The lap surprised me”

“I just want to have a ‘perfectly normal weekend’,” said Ai Ogura on Thursday ahead of the MotoGP event at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Just one day later, the first step had been taken. The Trackhouse rider, who was on the verge of becoming one of the favourites in the battle for the world championship lead before his enforced break due to a hand injury, started the race weekend in free practice in only 19th place, he was one of the two hardest-working riders on the grid, completing 22 laps.

In the crucial afternoon qualifying session – the longest of the GP event at 60 minutes – the Japanese rider confidently secured direct entry into Q2 on Saturday with the third-fastest time. The lap time, which saw the rider with start number 79 appear on the timesheet as the fastest Aprilia rider, came as a surprise even to the returning rider: “That lap took me by surprise, because up until then I’d been concentrating on doing my own thing. I had a different approach to the other riders and just enjoyed the ride.”

The 25-year-old says he doesn’t feel any pressure on his return to the field anyway – his positions are largely irrelevant. His aim for the weekend in Styria is different: “It’s the first race weekend after a long break, and I’m here to get back into the swing of things.”

Thumbs up for the injured thumb

It’s the last race before MotoGP heads to Asia. The next race weekend will be Ogura’s home race at Motegi in Japan in early October. However, the former Moto2 World Champion is no longer experiencing any complications from his healing broken thumb; he felt “no problems” on Friday, and painkillers weren’t necessary: “At least not on Friday, and certainly not on Saturday either. Everything’s fine,” said Ogura.

Ahead of Saturday’s sprint race, Ai Ogura – currently sixth in the World Championship standings – is now 71 points behind overall leader Marc Marquez and sits 4 points ahead of his team-mate Raul Fernandez, who was the only Aprilia rider to miss out on a place in Q2.

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19.09.2026 - 08:35