The ninth round of the MotoGP, the Italian Grand Prix, was held at the Mugello Circuit in Italy from June 20th to 22nd.
Japanese rider Ai Ogura (Aprilia) returned from injury to finish 12th in the sprint race and 10th in the final race.
Injured right leg “not painful”
The Italian Grand Prix was Ai Ogura’s (Aprilia) return race from injury.
Ogura fell towards the end of the Friday morning session of the British Grand Prix in late May, injuring his right knee and missing the rest of the session. On May 27th after the British Grand Prix, he underwent surgery on his upper right tibia (right knee). Although his recovery was going well, his doctor deemed him too weak to compete, so he also missed the following Aragon Grand Prix.
The stitches had already been removed at the Italian GP, and he was expected to take time to recover. Ogura said he was not in pain, and did not seem to be protecting his right leg when walking, and looked just like usual.
However, he has not been able to train since his injury, and this will be his first time riding a MotoGP machine in almost two races. Furthermore, the Mugello Circuit is a physically demanding circuit, with a main straight over one kilometer long and a series of high-speed corners. It could be said that riding on a circuit for the first time in about two races will be tough on the riders.
On Friday, he was extremely tired, and there were concerns about Sunday’s race, with some saying, “Maybe the race will be 23 laps…” However, as the days went by on Saturday and Sunday, his condition improved. Rather than being injured, it was the lack of two races that had affected his physical condition, which is required to ride a MotoGP machine.
In Saturday’s qualifying session (Q1), Ogura placed 21st. After the sprint race in the afternoon, Ogura commented, “I feel like I’m less concerned about my position than usual.” He finished the sprint race in 12th place.
“It’s not a race week where I’m looking for some big results, so in that sense I feel a bit more at ease. I do have some concerns though, as I’m coming back from an injury.”
In the final race the following Sunday, he started from 21st place and finished the 23-lap race in 10th place. Considering that this was his first race since returning to the track after two races since his injury – and even if that hadn’t happened, even as a rookie in the top class, his result of moving up the ranks and finishing in 10th place was quite impressive.
“There’s a point in the race where I tend to calm down, and that’s when I felt more tired than usual. But from then on, I was able to finish the race with the same level of fatigue. I didn’t fall, and I was able to finish the sprint race and the final, giving it my all, so I think it was a good comeback race.”
Regarding his injured leg, he said that he had “no problems at all” throughout the weekend. After his return race, Ogura will now take on the Dutch Grand Prix (June 27-29), which will be the second race of the season.
©Trackhouse Racing
©Trackhouse Racing
