MotoGP Australia, Ai Ogura (Aprilia/4): Broken but not defeated, he gives the key to Phillip Island…

With 5 rounds remaining in the season, the tension is rising in the paddock of the Australian MotoGP Grand Prix, and while all eyes are on the duel for leadership between Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez, it is not sparing Ai Ogura , who has just regained 4th place in the championship in Indonesia.

The SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team rider appreciated this week's break after suffering two crashes at Mandalika: the first on Friday, then a second, high-speed crash during the first qualifying session. This second crash left him with bruises and another broken finger, in addition to the thumb he had broken in training during the summer break.

During the Indonesian Sprint, #79 regained his confidence by securing second place. He then demonstrated his full potential during the Grand Prix: despite dropping to ninth position on the first lap, he climbed back up to fourth place at the checkered flag, thus completing Aprilia's 1-2-3-4 finish, the Italian brand's first 1-2-3-4 in a MotoGP Grand Prix.
This allowed him to surpass Peter Acosta in the overall standings and to find themselves 50 points behind Marco Bezzecchi while there are potentially 185 more to register.

Last year, Ogura arrived in Australia after missing the previous two Grands Prix, in Japan and Indonesia, and spent much of the weekend getting back into the swing of things.
This year he arrives knowing that he has a rhythm capable of allowing him to play at the front and, with good qualification, he has every chance of getting involved in the fight for the top spots.

Australia had been particularly important for the American team last year, with Raul Fernandez and Trackhouse 's first MotoGP victory.

This year, on an anti-clockwise track with very good grip but a very abrasive surface, which puts a lot of strain on the Michelin tires and requires good management to maintain traction until the end of the Grand Prix, will the specialist in the second parts of the race be able to come out on top?

While waiting for the answer, the 25-year-old Japanese driver answered a few questions…

This is the last Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island. What is your best racing memory from here?
Ai Ogura: "I don't really have any good memories on this circuit. If I had to choose one, I would say 2024, because that's when I achieved my best result on this circuit."

Strong winds are often a major factor when riding here at Phillip Island. What do you change in your riding style to adapt to these conditions?
"I think that with this type of track and in these conditions, you really have to get the tire working. To do that, you have to make the tire work, which means you have to push the bike hard."
I think that's all you need to do and once the tire reaches the right temperature and you start to feel comfortable with the bike, everything else comes automatically.
I think that's the key.

Last year, you returned to Australia after recovering from your injury. This time, you're arriving in better shape. Do you think that will help you ride better than last year?
"Definitely. I expect to have a much, much better weekend than last year."
Last year at Phillip Island, it was only my first race after my injury and, for my first season in MotoGP, coming to Phillip Island and racing there would never have been easy anyway.
I think the experience I now have on this circuit with a MotoGP bike will clearly help me a lot this season. I hope to do much better this year.

What is your favorite part of the circuit and how would you describe the feeling of riding it?
"It all depends on how fast you're going: if you're really competitive in the fast corners, Phillip Island can be a lot of fun practically on every corner.
But when you're having difficulties, you start to hate one turn, then another…
It's really hard to choose just one, but for me, the last corner and turn 1 are taken at very, very high speed and, when you're good in those corners, the sensations are incredible.
So I would probably say turn 1.

Davide Brivio, Team Principal: "Phillip Island is full of memories for everyone, but it's a particularly special place for Trackhouse because last year we won our first race there with Raul, who delivered a superb performance.
We arrive here after an excellent weekend in Indonesia, with Raul and Ai both on the podium, respectively in the Sprint and the main race.
We simply hope that the injury Raul suffered in Indonesia will not hinder him too much and that it will allow him to be able to fight for the victory, as he deserves.
Meanwhile, Ai achieved an excellent result in Indonesia despite some crashes and difficulties. We will therefore try to work as we did last week to allow both riders to recover as fully as possible, and then we will see how they are doing.
If, as I expect, everything goes well on the riders' side, I think it could be another good weekend for the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team.
We are therefore going there with high hopes and we will try to achieve the best possible result.

Provisional standings for the 2026 MotoGP Championship:

MotoGP Australia Ogura MotoGP Australia Ogura MotoGP Australia Ogura