Franco Morbidelli makes Pedro Acosta comparison after MotoGP rookie stuns in debut race
Franco Morbidelli felt he could have been fourth in the MotoGP Thai Sprint, but was denied by Ai Ogura.
The opening MotoGP Sprint of 2025 had a number of storylines running through it, one of which was Ai Ogura, who finished fourth in his first race in the premier class.
It was not a Grand Prix, of course, but Ogura took fourth place at the beginning of the race when he passed multiple riders around the outside of turn one, and then held position until the end, finishing 4.4 seconds off the win as the best non-Ducati rider.
It was a performance which impressed Franco Morbidelli, who tried to pass the Trackhouse Racing rider at the beginning of the race at turn four, and was ultimately unable to mount another challenge.
“Today, the MVP of the day, which is Ai Ogura, was impressive,” Morbidelli said, adding that he was surprised at how long the rookie’s pace lasted.
“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.”
The Italian added that he was not any more impressed by Ogura because he’s riding an Aprilia, only because he’s a rookie, and made a comparison with another rider who stood out on debut.
“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,” Morbidelli said.
“We see how rookies struggle in new categories, apart from Pedro Acosta and Ai Ogura.”
Aprilia official test rider Lorenzo Savadori, who is racing in Thailand this weekend in place of the injured Jorge Martin, said: “I’m happy for the result for Ai, for Ogura, because it was very impressive and we are working in a correct way and we are happy.”
Regarding what has impressed him about Ogura, Savadori added: “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.”
Ogura himself said his Sprint performance was “a big surprise,” but said he was able to use his position to learn some things about riding technique in MotoGP, particularly about how to ride smoothly.
“I thought the riders were going to ride much more aggressively, but they were riding smooth.
“It was more my riding, so I was happy.”
He added: “I think that’s [riding smoothly] exactly what I learnt from Pecco [Francesco Bagnaia].
“I was just trying to copy how he was [riding], because to ride behind Pecco for 13 laps is really quality for me.”
Ogura was also able to understand some things about the characteristics of the RS-GP compared to the Desmosedici.
“I cannot compare Marc [Marquez] and Alex [Marquez], I can just compare to Pecco, he’s the only one that was riding in front of me,” he said.
“In the mid-corner I gained a lot, but in the stop-and-go corners he has a bit more.”
Quotes provided by Crash MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren at Buriram.
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
