The 12th round of the MotoGP, the Italian Grand Prix, was held at the Brno Circuit in the Czech Republic from July 18th to 20th.
Japanese rider Ai Ogura (Aprilia) finished 16th in the sprint race and 14th in the final race.
Czech Republic, first race in five years, begins with a fall
The Czech GP was held for the first time in five years, since 2020. Five years ago, Ai Ogura (Aprilia) was in her second season competing in the Moto3 class. For Ogura, who is a rookie in the MotoGP class for the 2025 season, every circuit this season will be her first time racing a MotoGP machine, but the Brno Circuit was her first time racing since the Moto3 class.
The first day of the Czech Grand Prix weekend was hit by rain on Friday. During the morning’s Free Practice 1, the conditions improved from wet to dry, and the second half of the session was run on slick tires designed for dry conditions. However, Ogura suffered his 11th crash of the season. It was on his third lap after entering the track on slick tires.
“I think the tires weren’t ready yet,” Ogura said in a press conference after the first day.
Heavy rain began falling during the Moto2 practice session that had been held earlier in the afternoon, causing the session to be delayed. The session was run under full wet conditions, and Ogura finished in 20th place, missing out on a direct advance to Q2.
The weather was good from Saturday onwards, and the conditions were dry. In Saturday’s qualifying, where he competed from Q1, he placed 11th. He started the sprint race from 21st and finished 16th.
“It’s better than Friday, but… It’s not that my times are slower in any particular place, it’s just that my times are slower overall. If I can improve in some way, I feel like I can improve.”
Ogura said this during a press conference on Saturday, but he still finished 14th in Sunday’s race. Although he improved his position from the start and was within the points, it was obviously not a satisfactory result.
“It wasn’t very good. (The reason I was overtaken by Johann Zarco, who was competing for position during the race) was because my tires were sagging and my pace dropped. Then, towards the end of the race, Zarco’s pace picked up again and he got faster.”
The Brno Circuit, which was being raced for the first time in five years, had its surface resurfaced, meaning that Friday’s race was held in wet conditions, while Saturday and subsequent races were held in dry conditions, meaning that the precious first day of racing was not spent in dry conditions. It’s true that there was little dry data or track time, but that’s the same for all riders. One of the main reasons Ogura has struggled in the last few races is his inability to extract tire performance, which led to his crash on Friday. Ogura is currently exploring how to bring his tires to the right temperature.
We asked Ogura how he evaluated himself after the first half of the season.
“I’d give it about 50 out of 100. I had some good races and some bad races.”
“(In the first half of the season) I think the final race in Argentina went well, and the sprint race in the United States was also good. Jerez wasn’t too bad either, and the sprint race in Qatar… I’d say there were a few (good races).”
Ogura’s expression during the press conference clearly showed that he was not satisfied with the results. The season will now enter its one-month summer break.
“During my summer break… I’ll work hard to become a better motorbike rider.”
Ogura said this about how he spent his summer break. As a MotoGP rider, Ogura said, “I want to become better at riding motorcycles.” These words show that he is not satisfied with himself as he is now. They also say that Ogura is trying to improve himself even more in preparation for the second half of the season.
After a short break and training, Ogura will compete in the remaining 10 races of his rookie season, starting with the Austrian Grand Prix in August.
Ogura (No. 79) started the final race from 20th place and finished 14th. ©Trackhouse Racing
Sunday press conference ©Eri Ito
