Ai Ogura wins his first race at the Dutch Grand Prix around the historic Assen circuit. He was followed home by Raúl Fernández and Jorge Martín, making an all-Aprilia podium.
Race Start
This race marked the first Grand Prix start since the ride height device was banned after the last round. When the lights went out, it was a good start for all three on the front row, with Ai Ogura taking the lead in the first corner, with Jorge Martín getting ahead later in the lap.
Francesco Bagnaia was very aggressive at the start, but it did not work out well for him. Joan Mir crashed at the end of the first lap, but was ok. A battle of the Trackhouse riders brought Marc Márquez into the battle with Marco Bezzecchi and Bagnaia past Ogura.
Later in the lap, Bezzecchi had a massive crash at turn 15 at the end of lap 2. At an excess of 180kph/110mph, he barrel-rolled through the gravel trap. The race continued while Bezzecchi was taken to the medical centre, conscious. Aprilia released a statement saying he has no head injuries but has gone to the local hospital to check for any further injuries.
Battles across the field
The fastest lap of the race was set by Raúl Fernández, catching the leader, Martín. The battle for the final place on the podium was between M. Márquez, Ogura and Acosta. With M. Márquez still injured, Ogura found an easy way past. As he cleared away, M. Marquez, Acosta and Bagnaia carried on battling.
By lap 7, Fernández had caught up to Martín with a two-second gap back to Ogura in third. Ogura was closing up on both of them, setting the fastest lap of the race and slowly closing in.
Bike issues across the field
On lap 13, the KTM had another issue, with Acosta’s bike shutting off again. This is the fourth time this weekend, and it has happened at other events, most notably at the Catalonia Grand Prix, when Alex Marquez crashed into him. After the race, we found out that Acosta also had an injury in which his hand was numb due to Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. He will undergo surgery on Tuesday.
Bagnaia also had an issue with his Ducati, which meant he would have to retire from the race. Toprak Razgatlıoğlu had to retire with chatter.
Going into lap 16, Ogura appeared to be experiencing an issue with his rear ride-height device locking, losing 0.9 seconds in the first sector; however, it seemed to resolve.
Battle for the win
Fernández got ahead of Martín in the chicane at the end of lap 17, taking the lead for the first time in this race. Ogura also took advantage of the situation, getting past him to go second, pushing to close in on his teammate Fernández. The podium Aprilia 1-2-3.
Ogura seemed to be turning tighter lines and had much more pace over Fernández, which allowed him to take the lead in the race. Three laps later, Ogura passed Fernández. In his first full lap in the lead, he pushed the lead to a 0.9-second gap.
While the battle out front was happening, there was also a battle for fourth between M. Márquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio, where they both went wide at the chicane. M. Márquez ended worse off and behind his brother, A. Márquez. The incident led to Di Giannantonio receiving a Long Lap Penalty.
Japan’s 22-year wait for a win is over
Ai Ogura wins his first Grand Prix and ends the 22-year drought for a Japanese rider to win a MotoGP race. It did, with an Aprilia 1-2-3, Fernández and Martín coming in second and third. Ogura is also the first rider to win a MotoGP race having come through the Moto4 Asia Talent Cup.
“It is just fantastic. I don’t want to talk so much. Thank you to my people.”-Ai Ogura
M. Márquez received a post-race penalty for track limits on the last lap, so he lost a position. There are also tyre-pressure investigations involving Brad Binder and Augusto Fernandez.
Race Top 10:
P1: #79 Ai Ogura
P2: #25 Raúl Fernández
P3: #89 Jorge Martín
P4: #49 Fabio Di Giannantonio
P5: #73 Álex Márquez
P6: #23 Enea Bastianini
P7: #93 Marc Márquez
P8: #20 Fabio Quartararo
P9: #33 Brad Binder
P10: #42 Álex Rins
With the result, Jorge Martin is now the new championship leader. MotoGP will be back in two weeks for the German Grand Prix.