A MotoGP rider has discovered himself below maybe surprising duress from his teammate’s kind.
The primary rule of racing is all the time to beat your teammate however a rookie’s eye-catching first races have put renewed give attention to the extra skilled rider subsequent to him.
Ai Ogura burst into MotoGP with Trackhouse Racing by qualifying fifth within the season-opening Thailand spherical, then registering P4 and P5 finishes.
Ogura thought he had backed up that spectacular debut with a P8 within the grand prix in Argentina till a wierd infringement noticed him disqualified.
“He’s a man who, all through his profession, has been neglected as a result of he isn’t jazz-hands or ‘take a look at me’,” TNT Sports activities’ Neil Hodgson stated.
“He’s a quiet and shy particular person.
“Unexpectedly, his persona has been allowed to return out. He’s a wry character.”
Trackhouse rider ‘below stress’
Raul Fernandez
Suzi Perry stated about Ogura: “He’s glass half-empty. Any interview pre-race he’ll inform you all the negatives. He isn’t any person who says ‘this circuit will swimsuit me’.”
Michael Laverty stated: “He’s modest and understated, however quick!”
Hodgson added: “When journalists ask him ‘what do that you must enhance?’ He provides one-liners like ‘I have to be sooner!’
“His quirky persona is admittedly beginning to shine.”
However the success of Ogura has introduced new consideration to his teammate Raul Fernandez.
Now in his fourth premier class season, he achieved a personal-best sixteenth within the championship in 2024.
“[Ogura] places big stress on Fernandez’s shoulders,” Laverty stated.
“Raul has had a couple of years of expertise in MotoGP now. He’s had a couple of crashes, he has led laps, however he’s by no means delivered the efficiency that Ogura did on the Thailand MotoGP. It heaps the stress onto Fernandez, he has obtained to ship.
“It’s nice for Trackhouse to get Ogura. Folks had been vital of the choice nevertheless it’s been confirmed to be the appropriate one.”
Trackhouse, the US-backed satellite tv for pc challenge of Aprilia, had been linked with American rider Joe Roberts final yr.
Nevertheless, they as a substitute selected Ogura which shocked many paddock insiders.
Their religion within the Japanese rider has to this point been justified – even when it has piled the scrutiny onto teammate Fernandez.
