Trackhouse have their say on Ai Ogura's “disappointing” disqualification

Rookie Ai Ogura’s impressive charge from 15th to eighth in Sunday’s Argentine MotoGP counted for nothing when he was disqualified for a technical infringement.

A ‘technical error’ led to the wrong ECU being installed on Ogura’s Trackhouse RS-GP, a violation of MotoGP’s homologation rules.

Although the team insisted there was no performance advantage, the incorrect firmware version meant the Japanese rider was disqualified.

“The post-race sanction against Ai is very disappointing,” said team principal Davide Brivio.

“We have to accept the decision of the Stewards but feel very sorry for Ai because this didn’t give him any advantage and it’s so disappointing to take away points from a great race and the great performance that he did on track.

“It doesn’t take away anything for what he has done. It was just a wrong version of the software in the ECU. He did a great race, a fantastic recovery and we move on and we will continue.”

Ogura: “A great sadness”

Ogura, who made history with the best rookie debut since Marc Marquez by finishing fifth in Buriram, endured a more challenging weekend in Argentina.

After a quiet Sprint, the reigning Moto2 champion made a breakthrough on the medium rear tyre in warm-up. 

He gained five places on the opening lap of the grand prix before getting the better Pedro Acosta and finishing just behind the other factory KTM of Brad Binder.

“The race was really good,” Ogura said. “I was lucky after the start and gained a lot of positions and after that, I could pass a few riders, I was riding with very good pace.

“In warm up we found something and that made it a lot easier to go faster in the race. I think on the brakes, I was ok to pass the other riders, but against Binder, it was really tough to get past.

“On the exit, I had a bit more compared to him but on the brakes, he was doing very well. I was a little bit disappointed about my last lap, that I couldn’t find a way to pass Binder, but anyway, it was a great race and I’m really happy about today.

“I’m happy about the weekend, but especially Sunday. It is a great sadness that the result cannot stand.”

The disqualification not only stripped Ogura of eighth place but cost him eight championship points, dropping him from fifth to eighth in the early standings.

Brivio, however, remained upbeat: “Ai did a great recovery, starting in P15 and finishing eighth but especially what we really enjoyed are the fights with many experienced riders, overtaking when it’s not so easy to do.

“Overall, it was very good, another great weekend from Ai despite the starting position. We go forward, keep going.”

Penalty, then first point for Fernandez

The only consolation for Trackhouse was that Ogura’s DSQ elevated team-mate Raul Fernandez into 15th, earning him his first point of the season.

The Spaniard was in 14th place when he served a long lap penalty for contact with Enea Bastianini in the Saturday Sprint.

Although he didn’t fully agree with the penalty, Fernandez was happy with how the incident was handled by the FIM Stewards panel, now led by Simon Crafar.

“First of all, I’m happy with the new steward panel,” Fernandez said on Sunday. “You can speak with them and can explain your point of view.

“I agree only 50% with the penalty, because I touched with Enea a little bit, but he crashed alone because he didn’t pick up the bike. But I’m still happy with the stewards - this is a step for us.

“Apart from that, we changed the bike again today - I got on this bike in Thailand, when I was injured and I didn’t feel so well with my body and maybe that was a mistake, because we lost the line a little bit.

“In Thailand it was more or less good but here, after two days, the bike didn’t work like I want. So, we came back to the way I had last year and that was the key to feel competitive again.

“In the last part of the race, I felt very good with the bike and the tyres, so I am very motivated to go to Texas.”