Ai Ogura unsure of fitness, wary of “pressure” ahead of home MotoGP debut

Trackhouse MotoGP rider Ai Ogura says he is unsure about his fitness levels coming into his home round at the Japanese Grand Prix after a heavy crash at Misano.

The reigning Moto2 world champion fell from his satellite Aprilia on the third lap of the San Marino Grand Prix at the fast Turn 12 section.

While he didn’t suffer any serious injuries, he was forced to miss the Misano test day on the Monday due to multiple instances of bone bruising and swelling in his hand and foot.

He is set to compete this weekend at Motegi but admits he is not certain what his physical condition will be like.

Ai Ogura is also wary of the “pressure” he faces as a MotoGP rider on home soil.

“Finally, it’s home GP time and I’m on my way back to 100% with my hand,” he said.

“I’m not sure yet if we can be at 100% for Motegi really, but I think it’s going to be OK, at least enough to ride the bike.

“I’m just doing what I can until Friday and we will see what happens.

“It’s another new circuit on the MotoGP bike and of course, there is pressure, but I don’t want to think too much about the fact it’s a home grand prix.

“As always, I’ll do my maximum whatever comes. I just want to continue to work well with my team and give my 100% in front of the Japanese fans.”

Trackhouse team boss Davide Brivio provided an optimistic preview for the upcoming Japanese Grand Prix, as he believes the squad is “in a good moment” with Ogura and Raul Fernandez.

“Japan is an important race for us, being a home race for Ai, so we are very happy to go there and curious to see what we can do,” Brivio noted.

“Of course, Ai will have a lot of fans there, supporting us, so we will try to make our fans happy.

“With both, Ai and Raul, I think we are in a good moment, always fighting for good positions.

“We will try to keep the momentum. Ai is back from the injury, hopefully in good shape.

“Raul is consistently fighting for top 10 positions and that’s what we try to keep going.

“Looking at Motegi, which is a special race for Ai and we will try to support him as much as possible.

“Japan is also the beginning of the final part of the season, which is always quite important and always has some surprises. So, let’s start the journey in Japan.”