How impressive was Ai Ogura on his MotoGP debut in Thailand?

Marc Marquez may have won the Thailand Grand Prix after a measured ride from pole, but Ai Ogura’s performance on the Trackhouse Aprilia was just as impressive.

On his first race appearance in MotoGP, the young Japanese rider finished an incredible fifth, scoring the best result for a debutant since Marquez’s podium at the 2013 Qatar Grand Prix. Even Pedro Acosta, the highest-rated rider to step up to the premier class in recent years, only managed ninth in his maiden outing 12 months ago.

What was particularly impressive about Ogura’s debut weekend is that it wasn’t one individual result that put him in the limelight. Instead, it was a well-rounded performance from the 24-year-old, who shone in every session over three days at Buriram.

First, he put together an incredible lap in qualifying to place his Aprilia RS-GP fifth on the grid, just 0.35s off pole. Then, in the sprint race, he overtook Pramac’s Jack Miller at the start before claiming an incredible fourth in his first ever race outing.

On Sunday, he again got the jump on Miller to run fourth early on, but didn’t have the pace to keep Franco Morbidelli’s Ducati behind and settled into fifth. Even then, his fastest lap – a 1m30.942s – was just three tenths off Marquez’s best time on the factory Ducati.

Moreover, his pace didn’t drop below the 1m31s bracket until lap 21 of 26. For reference, Morbidelli began lapping in 1m32s from lap 22, and the Italian was riding last year’s championship-winning GP24.

So, the significance of Ogura’s result was not lost on anyone. On his debut, he was the top non-Ducati rider on the timesheets, and just 7.45s behind race winner Marquez. Ogura’s own stablemate Marco Bezzecchi finished 15s down in sixth, showing just how quick the Japanese was against riders on the same bike. In fact, Bezzecchi had to contend with the Honda of Johann Zarco in the closing stages, while Ogura never dropped too far behind the Ducati of Morbidelli.

Ogura was quite down to earth following his debut heroics, stating that he was surprised by his own performances at Buriram. He explained that he learned a few tricks by riding directly behind Francesco Bagnaia in the sprint race and applied those lessons in the grand prix on Sunday.

“It’s a big, big surprise,” he said of his sprint result. “I was trying to just copy what he was doing. To ride behind Pecco for 13 laps is really quality to me. [I learned] to be smooth. 

“These kinds of hot conditions, it’s an advantage [for me]. For other riders it is more tough and I don’t feel it so much so it’s a good point.”

He added: “The hardest thing for me was to manage the tyre. But in the sprint I learned a lot from Pecco. I just did like Saturday in the main race and my pace was quite okay in the end.”

While Ogura may say he was surprised by his performance, pre-season testing showed that he was already gelling well with the Aprilia. On the final day of the running, he unleashed his true one-lap pace, setting the seventh-quickest time. His long run pace wasn’t shabby either.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Bezzecchi was still expected to be the barometer for Aprilia’s performance in the early part of the season, after he performed incredibly well himself in testing, but Ogura managed to outdo his more experienced stablemate in Thailand.

“I knew he could be really fast,” said Bezzecchi of Ogura. “Of course it’s a great result today to make fourth in the sprint. So I’m surprised only by the result, but he is a very good rider so we knew that he could be very fast.”

Following the main race, Bezzecchi added: “We ride [in] quite [a] similar [way]. He is really precise, really good. I knew he was really fast and really good, as every Japanese person is really methodical. 

“He is working really well, so of course I saw his data. I tried to be better than him and try to learn from him. He does the same with me but also Raul [Fernandez].”

Ogura’s result is also a massive confidence booster for Aprilia. On a track that hasn’t historically suited the RS-GP, Ogura proved that the Noale-based brand has a strong chance of becoming the second-best manufacturer in MotoGP this year.

It also means that when reigning champion Jorge Martin returns to racing after his injury woes in pre-season, he will have a rapid bike underneath him.

Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Perhaps the only rider within Aprilia who would be alarmed by Ogura’s pace is his Trackhouse team-mate Fernandez, who wouldn’t like being beaten by a rookie when he himself is in his third season in the premier class.

The result will certainly give the Spaniard the push he needs to take his performances up a notch and repay the faith instilled by his bosses, who handed him a new two-year contract in the middle of last season.

For now, though, both Aprilia and Trackhouse have got a winner on their hands. And Ogura can also rest safely in the knowledge that he made the right decision to forego a less competitive seat at LCR Honda in the hope of better prospects elsewhere.

Ogura must have had a lot of confidence in his abilities to distance himself from a manufacturer that he knew so well – one that would have readily handed him a MotoGP berth due to his nationality.

But instead, he chose to prove his skills on track and win the Moto2 title with MT Helmets – MSI. And now he has shown that he well and truly belongs in MotoGP.