OGURA PENALIZED AS FERNANDEZ WITHDRAWS FROM AUSTRALIAN GP

Trackhouse-Aprilia’s Australian Grand Prix weekend took a difficult turn on Saturday: Ai Ogura lost his Sprint points to a tyre-pressure penalty, while injured teammate Raul Fernandez was ruled out of Sunday’s race.

Ogura crossed the line sixth in the 13-lap Sprint, but officials later imposed an eight-second penalty because his front tyre pressure was below the required level. The sanction dropped him to 14th and erased the four points he had initially earned. Before learning of the decision, the Japanese rider had described his race as a decent effort. “It wasn’t bad. Unfortunately, I couldn’t gain any positions after the start. My race pace was okay, and I was happy with how I rode,” he said.

The penalty followed a challenging qualifying session in wet conditions. Ogura finished last in Q2, 5.2 seconds behind pole-sitter Marc Marquez. He had expected to struggle in the rain, but was still troubled by the size of the gap. “It went completely as I expected. I knew I was really slow in the wet, but five seconds in qualifying is too much,” he said. “I have to do something. I can’t carry on like this for my whole career.”

With rain forecast for Sunday, Ogura set modest expectations. “It will be like a training session for me. After four or five laps, all the riders will probably have passed me. I’ll try to keep up, but it will be difficult,” he said. Aprilia had shown strong pace in the dry at Phillip Island, but wet-weather performance remains a major challenge for the rookie.

Fernandez’s weekend ended because of the broken right index finger he sustained in a crash in Indonesia. The finger is normally used for braking, and the demands of Phillip Island proved tougher than those at Mandalika. He retired from the Sprint after nine laps as the pain intensified.

A medical examination found the fracture stable, but identified inflammation in the surrounding soft tissue. Fernandez was declared unfit for Sunday’s race and will undergo rehabilitation to reduce the inflammation. He is due to travel to Malaysia and be assessed again on Thursday, when a decision will be made on whether he can race at Sepang. He had already voiced concern that the circuit’s many heavy braking zones could put extra strain on his hand.

With Fernandez sidelined and Jorge Martin also absent through injury, only two of Aprilia’s four riders are expected to line up for the Australian Grand Prix. After Ogura’s penalty, he is Trackhouse’s sole remaining chance to score points on Sunday.