MotoGP rookie Ai Ogura says he was in a position to discover ways to handle his tyres for a full race distance on the Thai Grand Prix after shadowing Francesco Bagnaia within the dash.
Reigning Moto2 champion Ogura turned heads in his debut within the premier class, after qualifying fifth on his Trackhouse Aprilia earlier than bagging fourth and fifth-place ends in the races.
Ogura’s grand prix type was notably spectacular, as he completed simply 7.5s from race winner Marc Marquez and was seven seconds away from manufacturing facility Aprilia counterpart Marco Bezzecchi.
Fifth is the very best consequence for a rookie of their grand prix debut since Marc Marquez breached the rostrum on the 2013 Qatar GP for Honda.
Pecco Bagnaia lesson for Ai Ogura
Ogura says his constant tempo within the 26-lap grand prix was helped by having the ability to research how Bagnaia managed his tyres whereas following him in Saturday’s dash.
“To begin with, this type of sizzling situation, for me it’s a bonus as a result of I feel for different riders it’s extra robust and I don’t really feel it a lot,” the Japanese rider mentioned.
“So, it’s an excellent level. The toughest factor for me was how you can handle the tyre.
“However yesterday [in the sprint] I realized so much from Pecco and I simply did like yesterday in the principle race and my tempo was fairly okay until the top.”
When requested about how his tyres degraded over the grand prix, Ogura famous: “Tyre dropped like I anticipated, however the final six, seven laps have been tough to handle.
“However I anticipated that earlier than I began the race. So, it was not a foul shock for me. So, it was manageable.”
Ogura’s consequence within the dash introduced with it rave reward from across the grid and the paddock at giant, although he says he didn’t come into Sunday’s race with the identical ambitions.
“After the dash, I had slightly dialog with my crew that it was a dash, solely 13 laps and the principle race will likely be slightly bit extra difficult,” he added.
“However even with the principle race distance, we have been nonetheless there. So, I’m blissful.”
Ogura says he was in a position to handle the warmth higher than most as a result of “I did a whole lot of races in Asia after I did Asia Expertise Cup. Could be one of many causes.”
Quotes offered by Crash MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren
