Ai Ogura says shadowing two-time world champion Francesco Bagnaia at the ThaiGP Sprint has helped him adapt his riding style for MotoGP.
On his debut weekend in the premier class, the Japanese rider stunned by taking fourth place in the Sprint, followed by a fifth place in Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Ogura credited his result in the main race to learning tyre management from Bagnaia and adopting the Italian’s “smooth” riding style.
“[Following Bagnaia] was really helpful for me for today’s main race,” Ogura told TNT Sports after Sunday’s race.
“I learned from Pecco [Bagnaia] to be smooth and it was even more important for the main race. So, that was a good point of the day.
“It’s really hard to mention one thing that I improved on, I just improved everywhere. I tried to be good on the brake, on the mid-corner, on the exit and every small detail.
“I cannot mention one [thing] but everywhere I am working.”
Ogura credits Trackhouse for ‘unexpected’ MotoGP debut
The Trackhouse rider was undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the weekend, as he finished both races as the top non-Ducati rider.
Ogura was also seven and a half seconds clear of Marco Bezzecchi, who was the next-best Aprilia in sixth.
The rookie was unfazed by the results and suggested it was down to doing “what the team asked” throughout the weekend.
“Of course, I’m feeling really nice. Today’s race was just like yesterday, I could learn from one of the big names so it was the main target of the race.
“It was much more than I expected of course. I was just getting used to the bike little by little and every session this weekend I tried to handle everything.
“Somehow this result shows up and my team was very happy so it was great. I just did what the team asked me to do, I cannot thank them enough.
“The start is not about the bike, it’s about the rider feeling and luckily it was there so let’s keep working like this.
Franco Morbidelli: Ogura ‘MVP’ of opening MotoGP weekend
Franco Morbidelli was one of the riders Ogura was able to get the better of in the Sprint, but the VR46 rider pipped him to fourth in the main race.
The Italian admitted he had expected the Japanese rider “to drop back” due to tyre degradation, but commended Ogura’s opening weekend as “spotless”.
“Today, the MVP of the day, which is Ai Ogura, was impressive,” Morbidelli said after the Sprint.
“To overtake him in the beginning of the race I made a mistake, then I was expecting him to drop back some spots.
“But instead he had a spotless race, it was impressive, and it was very hot, but very beautiful at the same time to see him race in this way in his first Sprint race ever in MotoGP.”
Morbidelli continued: “We’ve seen Aprilias being very quick in Sprint races, so it doesn’t surprise me that he’s on an Aprilia; what surprises me is that this is his first race weekend ever in MotoGP,
“We see how rookies struggle in new categories, apart from Pedro Acosta and Ai Ogura.”
Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori also had praise for the rookie: “I’m happy for the result for Ai, for Ogura, because it was very impressive. We are working in a correct way and we are happy.
“The feeling he has after eight days of testing, because he rode very well, very smooth, and aggressive in some points.
“Honestly, I’m happy for me and for Aprilia because also he’s a rookie and he’s able to arrive to 100 per cent, or close to 100 per cent, in the Sprint because he did a very good Sprint.
“Also, in general, this track for us is not a super-friendly track for us, so it’s positive.”
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