OGURA FINISHES FOURTH IN AUSTRIA SPRINT AFTER RETURN FROM INJURY
1d ago·
Ai Ogura returned to MotoGP action at Spielberg after missing the Grands Prix in Aragon and Misano due to a motocross injury, and he immediately looked back to his pre-break form. On Friday he posted a third-place finish in MotoGP qualifying practice, then improved again on Saturday with a fifth-place result in qualifying.
Starting from the second row, Ogura had a promising launch in the MotoGP Sprint, but the opening laps were chaotic. He was caught off guard when Ducati riders Alex Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia surged past him. Jorge Martin, his Aprilia teammate, dropped to eighth after being hit by Marc Marquez in the Schikane. Ogura then quickly regrouped, passing Bagnaia again and moving back up to sixth after Martin’s incident.
From there, Ogura began pressuring AM73. With four laps remaining, he made his move in the Schikane to take the position. After Pedro Acosta crashed, Ogura inherited fourth place and crossed the line there.
When asked what part of the race stood out most, Ogura pointed to his overtake on Alex Marquez. “Yes, the move against Alex was clean and beautiful,” he said with a smile.
Ogura also assessed his physical condition, noting that over 14 laps he had no problems. “The left thumb didn’t bother me,” he added.
Despite the Sprint’s ups and downs, Ogura was pleased with the outcome. “Yes, very!” he said when asked if he was satisfied. He explained that Friday and Saturday had gone much better than expected, adding that he would have guessed a finish around “11 or 12.”
Looking ahead to finding more speed at the Red Bull Ring, Ogura identified two areas: “Stability on the brakes,” and the need to understand why he is “slow in the third sector.”
In the championship, Ogura now sits 77 points behind Martin, who regained the lead in the standings.