HODGSON SAYS AI OGURA HASN’T YET PROVEN HE CAN DELIVER THE WIN STREAK NEEDED AFTER HAND SURGERY

Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura’s 2026 MotoGP title hopes have taken a serious hit after he suffered a left-hand injury during motocross training in Japan, and British rider Neil Hodgson believes the key requirement to stay in the fight—an “unprecedented” run of wins—has not yet been proven.

Ogura missed the Aragon Grand Prix this weekend after a bone in his left hand was fractured while he was dirt-tracking on a motocross bike. He had returned to Japan for the three-week break following the British Grand Prix, and while he is understood to have seen a doctor there to assess the problem, the full extent of the injury only became clear after his return to Europe. It was then discovered that he had broken his left hand close to his thumb, and it was not until Thursday that he underwent surgery.

The operation was carried out in Barcelona by surgeon Dr Xavier Mir, with Trackhouse aiming for Ogura to be able to return at the next round at Misano for the San Marino Grand Prix on September 11-13. However, Hodgson’s concern is not only the timing of the injury and the recovery that follows, but also the competitive reality of the championship at this stage of the year.

Hodgson pointed out that Ogura is already 37 points behind Aprilia’s Jorge Martin, and that missing a full weekend at this point in the season can effectively end a title bid unless a rider can string together extraordinary results. Speaking to TNT Sports, Hodgson said: “I feel terrible for Ai Ogura, who has suffered a hand injury that ruled him out of the weekend.” He added that he had spoken with Ogura’s future team manager, Francesco Guidotti, while travelling, and that Guidotti explained the crash details: “I was actually on a flight with his future team manager, Francesco Guidotti, and asked him what happened. He explained that Ogura had a really unfortunate, slow-speed crash while dirt-tracking in training and fractured his hand. It’s a massive blow.”

Hodgson then underlined the scale of the challenge facing Ogura: “At this stage of the season, with rounds coming thick and fast, missing a full weekend effectively ends your world championship hopes unless someone goes on an unprecedented win streak. Ogura, as good as he is – as good as he can be – is yet to show he can do that.”

The former World Champion also referenced Ogura’s MotoGP record, noting that the 25-year-old has only one Grand Prix win to date—coming in June’s Dutch GP. That victory at Assen was described as a standout performance, with Ogura pulling away from Trackhouse teammate Raul Fernandez by 2.004 seconds and from championship leader Martin by 3.512s.

Yet Hodgson suggested that while the Assen win was impressive, it came with factors that softened the comparison to a fully dominant, repeatable peak. He pointed to Marc Marquez’s fitness and Marco Bezzecchi’s crash as mitigating circumstances behind Ogura’s success. Trackhouse, he said, have not yet seen Ogura beat Marquez and Bezzecchi at their bests, while the factory Ducati and factory Aprilia riders are continuing to build momentum in his absence.

At Aragon, Bezzecchi set the tone by beating Marquez to secure pole with a new all-time lap record at MotorLand Aragon, and Marquez then won the Aragon Sprint after passing Bezzecchi, which also helped Alex Marquez move into second.

With MotoGP now set to move on to Misano shortly after Ogura’s surgery, the challenge is twofold: he must return from a recently operated left hand, and he will face a field that includes riders already showing strong form at the next venue. Hodgson also noted that Martin has historically been quick at Misano, adding to the pressure Ogura will face when he attempts to restart his championship momentum.