MotoGP: Trackhouse awaits Bastianini, but Ogura's departure leaves regret

The Japanese rider retired from the race at Silverstone, losing precious points in the title chase. There’s also some regret in the American team’s garage about his start.

While Raul Fernandez’s side of the garage was celebrating the Spanish rider’s victory, Ai Ogura’s side was bitter over the Japanese rider’s retirement. It was lap nine when he crashed at Turn 16; he was running seventh after a less-than-ideal launch from third on the grid.

We can’t know what final result he might have achieved if he hadn’t slipped, but we do know he threw away points that would have helped him in the world title race. He’s now third in the standings, 37 points behind the leader, Jorge Martin, and 6 behind Marco Bezzecchi. Right behind him is Marc Marquez at -1.

The Asian rider admitted the crash wasn’t caused by anything particularly serious, but it made a huge difference, forcing him to end his race early: "The incident was just a small mistake: a bit more lean angle with the same brake pressure and I locked the front wheel, running off track. It’s a shame to have made such a mistake; after the poor start I was making up places, which was quite difficult. At that point in the race I wasn’t fast enough and I pushed in the wrong place, at the wrong time. I feel I could have had a much better race."

The awful start definitely affected him; the urge to fight back led him to slightly overdo it, and that proved fatal. For Ogura, it was his second retirement of the season in a full-length race, the first having occurred in Austin, the third round of the 2026 MotoGP calendar. He had managed great consistency before the Silverstone crash, an episode that will help him learn and improve.

Ogura prefers to say little and let his riding do the talking. His performances impressed Yamaha so much that they signed him for 2027–2028 to partner Jorge Martin in the factory team.

The SuperFile Trackhouse team would have liked to keep him, but when a manufacturer calls and offers a strong contract to race for a factory squad, it’s not easy to refuse. Justin Marks, owner of Trackhouse, admitted to feeling a bit of bitterness over Ogura’s departure: "I wouldn’t want Ai to leave the team - he told the official MotoGP website -I’m very sorry about it. But at the same time I’m happy for him; riders have to make the best decisions for their careers. We’re thrilled that he’s reached this point in his career together with us".

Marks spoke in glowing terms about Ogura, not ruling out a possible return in the future: "He’s a very well-balanced guy. Someone who, when the pressure rises, can focus and think only about his job. That’s an important aspect of his character. He’s a champion. Who knows, maybe one day he’ll come back to us and win on our bikes, but for now we’re trying to make the most of the time we have together."

The SuperFile Trackhouse team recently announced the extension of Raul Fernandez through 2028; the announcement of the rider who will replace Ogura is still pending. Barring surprises, Enea Bastianini will be joining the American squad’s garage.

The Rimini-born rider had already had the chance to ride the factory team’s Aprilia in 2025–2026, but he decided to commit to the KTM project and join the Tech3 team—a decision he certainly wouldn’t make again if he could turn back time, which he can’t. Bastianini can only look ahead, finish this season as well as possible, and then give his all once he arrives at SuperFile Trackhouse. He will be highly motivated and may not make Ogura’s absence felt.