Ai Ogura admitted he was “surprised how s**t I was” during the opening stages of the MotoGP Thai Grand Prix.
The Trackhouse rider eventually recovered to finish fifth at the Buriram opener, matching his career-best result from the previous year.
However, Ogura said he felt “zero happiness” after a frustrating first half of the race.
After recovering to fourth in Saturday’s Sprint, the Japanese rider slipped from eighth to eleventh on the opening lap of the grand prix, then struggled to make progress.
“There is some issue that stops me in the first part of the race, but it’s nothing from the bike,” Ogura said.
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“The problem was how I approached the corners, especially when more bikes were in front of me.
“So another experience, but I was surprised how s**t I was in the first part of the race! Not happy.”
Ai Ogura, 2026 Thai MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
Part of the problem was rising front tyre pressure while running in the dirty air behind other riders.
Ultimately, Ogura was unable to gain a position until lap 16 of the 26, negating the impact of his strong late-race pace.
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While many struggled to control tyre wear, Ogura was the fastest rider on track in the final laps, closing to within a few tenths of factory Aprilia rider Jorge Martin.
But he had to settle for fifth place, and last of the four Aprilia riders.
2026 Thai MotoGP lap times: The Top 6.
© Peter McLaren
“I knew I was going to be fast at the end of the race. That was my strong point, but I couldn’t use it,” Ogura said.
“The time when the bike is okay to push, maybe I didn’t. And when the bike says it’s quite limited, that’s when I push. I should understand more…”
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Ogura’s disappointment was in stark contrast to a year ago, when he achieved the same 4-5 results – and was the top Aprilia rider – on his MotoGP debut.
“The position is the same, but the feeling is completely different,” he said. “Zero happiness.”
Team-mate Raul Fernandez, who qualified on the front row, went on to finish third in both the Sprint and the grand prix.
The Sunday race was won by Marco Bezzecchi.
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