The Moto2 Japanese Grand Prix presented the riders with a difficult dilemma at the start, when rain arrived on the Motegi circuit. It was then up to them to make the right choice of tyres, so as not to compromise the rest of their race. While Ai Ogura emerged victorious from this strategic battle, the local rider did not manage to secure victory. However, the future MotoGP rider explains with a certain maturity that he put his own interests aside to think about the championship.
The Japanese Grand Prix got underway twenty minutes late yesterday morning after the race was interrupted due to unpredictable weather conditions. Once the start was underway, many drivers raised their arms to signal the impossibility of riding on slicks on a track that was too wet. The stewards were quick to react and eventually waved a red flag.
When the race resumed, the rain had stopped, but the track was still wet. While most of the leaders chose to use rain tires, a few daring ones took the gamble of starting on slicks. While some did so because they had nothing to lose, with a difficult qualifying, Ai Ogura, the championship leader, took a big risk.
The latter ultimately paid off, as after a chaotic first lap, the Japanese began to show a pace five seconds faster per lap than his rivals, moving from fourteenth to first in less than three laps.
On paper, Ogura only had to make no mistakes to reach the finish line in front of his fans. That was without counting on the dazzling return of Manuel Gonzalez, determined to secure his first victory in the world championship. After having promoted himself to second place, the latter was more than two seconds behind the leader of the event. However, he had no difficulty in closing the gap, to take the lead four laps from the finish line, and no longer be worried.
A tough call resulting in an important home podium 👏@AiOgura79 takes 2nd and now hold a 60-point lead in the standings🥈#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/5dzE1j74JJ
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 6, 2024
Deprived of a victory in front of his home crowd, Ai Ogura was nevertheless satisfied with this result at the end, given the great performance he was able to achieve in the championship.
"When the race started, I wasn't really sure if my choice was correct. But in the end, it was the right choice, confides last after the test. For the rest Manuel was faster, and I prefer to see things on a bigger scale: second place is more than enough today. I saw that this race was the one I had to win, but well, I think it's enough for today. I'm very happy for the team."
A mature speech delivered by the future Trackhouse driver, who judges that he managed to detach himself from his emotions to classify his priorities in the middle of the race.
This is not the first time that the Japanese driver has put his pride aside by letting a victory slip away, as he had already done so by failing to resist Aron Canet last week in Indonesia. “I wasn’t too far away, but I immediately changed my goal, saying to myself that I had to secure second place. I could see the others suffering with their rear tyre, and my rear tyre was better, and I was able to use that advantage. The target today was second place, so I’m really happy with today.”
This consistency displayed on the podium allows him to fly away in the Drivers' standings, while he will have a first opportunity to wrap up the Moto2 world championship in just under two weeks, on the Phillip Island circuit, during the Australian Grand Prix.
