The seventh round of the MotoGP, the British Grand Prix, was held at Silverstone Circuit in the UK from May 23rd to 25th.
Ai Ogura (Aprilia), a rookie in the MotoGP class and the only Japanese rider competing, suffered a crash in Friday’s morning session and was forced to withdraw.
Fall at corner 2 in FP1
Ai Ogura (Aprilia) crashed at the end of Free Practice 1 (FP1) on Friday morning, the first session of the weekend.
Ogura’s bike shook violently as he entered the second corner, a high-speed right-hander, causing him to fall and slide into the gravel. He managed to get up on his own and, although limping, move on his own.
However, although he took to the track during the afternoon practice, he immediately returned to the pits, after which it was announced that the practice would be cancelled.
There was no press conference with Ogura to answer questions from journalists that day. According to an audio recording of Ogura provided by his team, he explained the fall as follows:
“The bike was working really well in the morning, but I wasn’t riding at a particularly fast pace. I went out on the track for the second time and tried to pick up the pace, but I think I pushed too hard and at the wrong time, which is why I crashed. After the crash, my right knee wasn’t feeling well, so I decided not to ride in the afternoon session.”
At this point, the plan was to “wait and see” for the next day’s run, but on Saturday morning it was announced that Ogura would miss the British Grand Prix.
It was determined that he may have a fractured joint in his right knee, so he will return to Barcelona, Spain on Sunday the 25th and undergo further examinations at the hospital on Monday the 26th.
Further updates are awaited regarding the condition of Ogura’s injury.
Although Ogura was absent, he was seen watching the race from the sidelines on Saturday. © Trackhouse Racing
