Ai Ogura experiences a weekend of highs and lows at Silverstone: After a podium finish in the Sprint, he crashes in the Grand Prix—the Japanese rider is self-critical
Ai Ogura leaves Silverstone with mixed feelings. The Trackhouse Aprilia rider had initially secured a strong starting position for the British Grand Prix: a front-row start, plus second place in the Sprint.
In the main race, however, a poor start cost him positions, and later a riding error cost him a potential top finish. Ogura himself took full responsibility for this without making excuses: “It was just a small mistake.”
“I was leaning a bit more at the same braking pressure, which caused the front wheel to lock up and I crashed. It’s a shame that a mistake like that happened to me,” he said, explaining his crash. The crash is particularly bitter for Ogura because, after the summer break, he had once again proven himself to be one of the fastest riders in the field.
On Saturday, he had already finished second behind Jorge Martin on the sprint podium. In qualifying, he had placed third behind his two Aprilia teammates, Martin and Raul Fernandez, and thus started the Grand Prix from the front row.
Ride-Height System Causes Difficult Start
However, things didn’t go according to plan right from the first corner. Both Ogura and pole-sitter Jorge Martin had problems with the rear ride-height system. Neither was able to lower the bike at the start as intended, causing them to fall behind in Turn 1 and lose positions.
WE ARE GOOOO IN MotoGP! @ 25RaulFernandez leads as things get CRAZY further back ⚔️BritishGP pic.twitter.com/ZsAejPM6jc
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) August 9, 2026
“Yes, we both had the same problem. The rear device didn’t unlock, and we were both at the same spot on the track,” Ogura explains. Neither he nor Martin had braked hard enough to deactivate the system. “I feel like I could have done much better.”
These devices have been an important part of the start in MotoGP for years. Lowering the motorcycle reduces its center of gravity, which can prevent wheelies and improve acceleration. Especially at the start, this can have a significant impact on the first few meters.
But for Ogura, it proved to be a hindrance this time. “I matched my braking to Raúl and Jorge and forgot to brake hard enough to unlock the rear system,” he explains. “I lost a few positions, but it wasn’t anything to worry about. I just couldn’t lean into the corner like I usually do.”
Ogura dropped back to fifth place and then had to try to work his way back up the field. However, that proved more difficult for the Japanese rider than he had hoped.
“Not fast enough” and then the crash
“After the poor start, I tried to regain my positions, but it was pretty difficult. I just wasn’t fast enough at that point and pushed too hard in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Although he found his rhythm again as the race progressed, his comeback ultimately ended in a crash. For Ogura, the nature of the mistake was particularly frustrating. He didn’t feel like he had been riding beyond his limit, but had simply been a bit too aggressive in the wrong place.
For the first time this year @AiOgura79 CRASHES OUT BritishGP pic.twitter.com/k2i1KpAuHj
— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) August 9, 2026
For the 25-year-old, it was also an unusual experience in what had been a very consistent season so far. The crash at Silverstone was his first race crash this year.
Even before the summer break, Ogura had emerged as a serious World Championship contender and had even celebrated his first MotoGP victory. At Assen, he prevailed over his Trackhouse teammate Raul Fernandez, becoming the first Japanese MotoGP winner since Makoto Tamada in 2004.
Ogura gives credit: Fernandez was “really strong”
On Sunday at Silverstone, it was Fernandez who triumphed once again. The Spaniard won the Grand Prix in commanding fashion, securing his second MotoGP victory. The fact that his teammate was the one to beat came as no surprise to Ogura.
The Japanese rider graciously acknowledges that Fernandez took the decisive step forward at Silverstone: “This time, Raul was really strong. When I saw his data after the warm-up, I could definitely tell it was his day.”
Overall, however, Ogura sees the balance of power in the field as fairly even: “I feel like we’re all very, very close together.” One weekend, two riders might be particularly strong; the next, two others. The level of performance fluctuates, but overall, the field is “very balanced.”
Ogura himself had therefore set a much more conservative goal for the race. “My goal was around third or fourth place,” he explains. ” No, I wasn’t good enough.”
Positives from Silverstone, but also a lesson
For the title race, however, the retirement was a setback. Before Silverstone, Ogura was second in the World Championship with 194 points, just 14 points behind Martin. Due to his zero-point finish in the Grand Prix, that gap has now grown to 37 points. Martin now leads ahead of Marco Bezzecchi, with Ogura in third place.
Despite the disappointing Sunday, however, Ogura doesn’t want to view the weekend as entirely negative. His front-row start and sprint podium finish confirmed that the speed is there. At the same time, the Japanese rider recognized that his approach to a long main race, in particular, still has room for improvement.
“I think the weekend was good,” the Trackhouse Aprilia rider summed up. Still, he wasn’t satisfied with his own performance. “I’m not really happy with myself because my approach to the main race wasn’t right. I have a lot to learn from this weekend again. So we’ll keep going.”
