One MotoGP rider accepts "the crash was my fault, I'm very sorry"

Ai Ogura has apologised to Joan Mir after a failed overtaking attempt at saw both riders crash out of the German MotoGP on Sunday.

The incident occurred during a battle for ninth place, when Ogura attempted to dive inside the Honda rider, only to lose the front and take them both out.

“The crash was absolutely my fault,” Ogura admitted.

“I saw riders in front running a bit wide and there are not many overtaking spots at this circuit, so I tried.

“I lost the front and unfortunately, I took another rider out.

“I’m very sorry to Joan! That wasn’t a nice feeling.”

The Trackhouse Aprilia rider had been enjoying a promising race, climbing from 17th on the grid and matching the pace of the midfield pack.

“In the race itself, I felt quite OK and compared to Friday, it was much better that I could stick with so many other riders,” he said.

There are positive things to take away but, if you don’t see the chequered flag, it doesn’t have a meaning. 

"On to Brno now.”

Brivio: “It’s part of racing, but we apologise to Honda”

Team director Davide Brivio echoed Ogura’s regret over the incident.

“It’s a pity, because Ai made good progress through the race and he was picking up a good pace,” Brivio said.

“Then he saw a good opportunity and tried, but he crashed while overtaking, which can happen. It’s part of racing.

“Unluckily, this caused a crash for Joan and we want to apologise to Joan and Honda for this.

“I think we could have made more progress and learned more, but we are happy about Ai’s pace, it was coming better and better throughout the race.”

Fernandez salvages ninth, but “frustrated” by front pressure

Only ten riders finished at the Sachsenring, with Ogura’s team-mate Raul Fernandez classified ninth after surviving a race of attrition.

“To be honest, with the result, we were super lucky because we had a lot of crashes in front of us,” Fernandez said.

Fernandez revealed that he struggled throughout the race due to excessive front tyre pressure that made overtaking nearly impossible.

“The good thing is, I feel good with the bike again—I feel I can ride like I want.

“We made the seventh fastest lap of the race, so basically, I take the positives that I feel comfortable again.

“But on the negative side, we didn’t manage the front pressure well… I tried all the race but it was impossible for me and really frustrating.”

MotoGP now heads to Brno, returning to the calendar for the first time since 2020, meaning both Ogura and Fernandez will be riding a MotoGP bike at the circuit for the first time.