Ai Ogura admitted to feeling “nervous” throughout the MotoGP test in Barcelona with his new Trackhouse team.
Ogura carried out his MotoGP test debut in Barcelona after winning the Moto2 championship and signing a two-year contract with the American brand.
The Japanese star complied together 86 laps throughout the seven hour window and ended proceedings in 21st place.
Ogura provided an honest reflection of his debut MotoGP appearance and shared the differences between the Moto2 and MotoGP bikes, stating: “Overall, I think it was a good day.
“I had one crash in the morning but after that, I got my confidence back and slowly got faster.
“I understood many things after two or three laps, the acceleration surprised me. It was a nice experience but now it is time to work more.
“Of course, all of these riders make me nervous when I see them on the track, also some cameras. But it was manageable.
“Maybe on the throttle, to keep the bike calm, to accelerate in a good way was the most difficult part for me. It’s a bit different.
“First I need to fix braking, all the entry part, from when I brake to when I touch the throttle I need to understand much more and it’s the place where I want to fix first.”
Away from riding in the off-season, Ogura aims to return to the next MotoGP test at Sepang in a better physique.
“I did 86 laps and the longest stint was I think around 10 laps,” he said.
“For this track I was ok, I got no problem with my body.
“But I never did 20 laps in a row today, so we will see. But I’m ok after today, but this winter I will train a bit harder than last year.”
Trackhouse boss Davide Brivio offers his two cents
Trackhouse Racing boss Davide Brivio discussed further about Ogura’s first day on the RS-GP.
He emphasised that Ogura’s day was more adjusting to the MotoGP bike rather than testing new parts and praised the skills he brings to the American oufit both on and off track.
“Overall, it was a very positive day,” he said to MotoGP.com.
“We find out it’s very nice to work with Ai. He has a very calm approach, step-by-step, going smooth into things but you can see he’s absorbing everything.
“He’s trying to understand and I always feel nowadays the jump between Moto2 and MotoGP is bigger and bigger every year because we have so many things [such as] devices, aerodynamics and so many things different.
“He’s doing well and I think also this test is also important because it’s a one day test and it will allow him to understand the MotoGP and maybe what he needs, also from physical point of view, it gives a lot of information to think about these next couple months while we getting ready for Sepang.
“He started on Miguel’s bike, our full 2024 package, working on that. But as I say, we’re not really testing anything, it’s understanding the bike and the tyres.
