Ai Ogura has taken full responsibility for the last-corner collision with Pedro Acosta that overshadowed his strong recovery ride at the Catalunya MotoGP. The Trackhouse Aprilia rider, who had surged from 11th on the restart grid to challenge the leaders, attempted an ambitious move for fourth place on the final turn—resulting in contact that sent Acosta crashing out.
Ogura was hit with a three-second post-race penalty for causing the collision, initially dropping him from fourth to ninth before tyre-pressure penalties later moved him up to eighth. Reflecting on the incident, Ogura said, “It was a strange Sunday, with three starts. We had good pace and towards the end we were able to catch a few riders in the front. But the last lap, last corner was just my stupid [mistake]. I shouldn’t make that move. At the end, I took one rider out and put myself in ninth. So that wasn’t good at all.”
Despite overtaking several former world champions—including Fabio Quartararo and Pecco Bagnaia—Ogura’s impressive performance was ultimately marred by the late incident. Meanwhile, his Trackhouse teammate Raul Fernandez was also involved in an opening-lap clash with Aprilia’s Jorge Martin but escaped penalty.
The penalty serves as a setback for Ogura, who has shown consistent pace this season, but the Japanese rider’s immediate admission of fault and focus on improvement reflect his growing maturity in MotoGP.
