AI OGURA RETURNS TO SILVERSTONE AFTER 2025 CRASH THAT SIDELINED HIM

Ai Ogura returns to Silverstone with a point to prove after a difficult 2025 visit that effectively ended his weekend before it began. The Trackhouse Aprilia rider’s season at the British circuit was cut short in opening practice, when he suffered a fracture to the top of his right tibia. The injury also ruled him out of the subsequent Aragon round.

Ogura arrives in 2026 holding second place in the MotoGP standings, just 14 points behind Jorge Martin. His recent form has been strong: he has outscored Martin in each of the last four rounds, and he has missed the podium only once in the past six races. That consistency has included a fourth-place finish in Germany, four runner-up results, and a Dutch Grand Prix win.

Speaking about last year’s crash, Ogura described Silverstone 2025 as “one of my worst moments” of the season. He said the problem began early as he was still building confidence after getting up to speed. “Last year the situation in Silverstone was quite tough,” Ogura said. “It was pretty early in the season, I was getting up to speed, building up my confidence, but on Friday morning I had a massive highside in the fast Turn 2 corner and got a knee injury which cost me a few races afterwards.” He added that while Silverstone 2025 was painful, “the situation this year is quite different from last year.”

Ogura also acknowledged the challenge of the circuit itself, noting that it is “almost impossible to make a perfect lap” at Silverstone. Still, he believes the track’s character could suit him better than it did before he moved up to MotoGP. “Before I came to MotoGP I was not a big fan of flowing circuits and fast corners but, since I moved up to MotoGP, fast corners and flowing circuits became one of my strong points. Hopefully it works this time as well,” he said.

Trackhouse’s momentum has been reinforced by Raul Fernandez, who sits sixth in the championship. Together, the pair have made Trackhouse the highest-scoring team over the past three rounds. Team director Davide Brivio said the focus now is on carrying that competitiveness into the next phase. “We are very curious to see how things can proceed, whether we can keep our competitiveness going forward,” Brivio said. He pointed out that last year’s Silverstone conditions were a factor, adding: “Last year, Silverstone was not a weekend to remember for us, but it was in May, it was cold, and this year we go there in a completely different period and also in different shape.”

Brivio also stressed the importance of continuity after the summer break, saying, “We’re really looking forward to Silverstone and are very curious to see how our riders come back from the summer break.” He concluded by linking the weekend’s approach to recent performances, saying it is “very important to continue to approach this weekend the same way we did lately, in Sachsenring or Assen.”