MotoGP British Grand Prix Race Report: Ai Ogura 2nd in Sprint, First Crash Retirement of the Season in Main Race

The 12th round of MotoGP, the British Grand Prix, was held at Silverstone Circuit in the UK from August 7th to 9th.

The British Grand Prix is the first race of the second half of the 2026 season. From here, 11 more races will be held, including the Japanese Grand Prix in early October.

Ai Ogura (Aprilia), the only Japanese rider competing in the premier class, finished second in the sprint race. He retired due to a crash in the main race.

Silverstone, where he crashed and was injured last year. Achieves 2nd place in the sprint race.

The British Grand Prix was a significant event for Ai Ogura (Aprilia) this season. This is because last year, in his rookie season as a MotoGP rider, he suffered a severe crash during Friday morning's Free Practice 1 at this very British Grand Prix, injuring his right knee. He subsequently missed the remaining sessions and the race at the British Grand Prix, as well as the Aragon Grand Prix.

In other words, Ogura had only about 45 minutes of track time at Silverstone Circuit in his first year in the MotoGP class. This means he had less experience at this circuit compared to others he had raced on so far in the 2026 season.

Despite this, Ogura secured a top 5 position in Friday afternoon's practice session, earning him a direct spot in Q2. Furthermore, in Saturday's Q2 (Qualifying 2), he achieved third place, securing a front-row start for the third time this season.

Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Racing MotoGP Team) ©Trackhouse Racing

In Saturday afternoon's sprint race, he maintained a strong second position behind leader Jorge Martín (Aprilia) from the start. At one point, he showed a pace that suggested he might catch up to Martín, but he ultimately finished in second place.

In the post-race interview in Parc Fermé, Ogura stated that the performance of his rear tire dropped significantly. In this race, most riders opted for a hard compound front tire and a soft compound rear tire, and Ogura was one of them.

Other riders also commented on their rear tires. Marc Márquez (Ducati) was forced to drop positions due to the degradation of his rear tire. Márquez, who was running in fourth place during the race, finished in ninth. In an interview with MotoGP.com, Márquez said, "Around lap three, I started managing the tires thinking, 'The end will be a battle of tire endurance.' Even so, it wasn't enough, and the performance dropped significantly."

It is also noteworthy that Aprilia riders swept the top three positions in this sprint race. The winner was factory rider Martín. Ogura took second place, and factory rider Marco Bezzecchi finished third.

Bezzecchi, who led the championship early in the season, crashed during qualifying at the German Grand Prix before the summer break, fracturing his left collarbone. He recovered during the summer break, and this was his comeback race.

Main Race: First Crash Retirement of the Season

In Sunday's main race, Ogura had a slightly slow start. Not only Ogura, but also pole-sitter Martín, were among the riders who lost positions.

Martín explained, "The mistake in this race was the start. I didn't get away well, and I was too optimistic about defending my position into Turn 1. As a result, I braked too late, and the ride-height device didn't disengage." (Quote from team-provided comments).

Observing the footage, sparks can be seen flying from the rear of both Martín and Ogura at Turn 1. It is likely that Ogura experienced the same issue as Martín (the ride-height device not disengaging).

In the 2025 British Grand Prix, Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), who was leading at the time, experienced a problem where his ride-height device failed to disengage, causing him to stop his bike. However, this time, both Martín and Ogura were able to continue the race.

It should be noted that while the front ride-height device (holeshot device) has been banned since the Dutch Grand Prix, the rear device is still in use.

Ogura subsequently dropped to seventh place. Then, on lap 9, while running in a position that made challenging for the podium difficult, he crashed at Turn 16 and retired. This was his first crash retirement of the season, including both sprint and main races.

Meanwhile, Raúl Fernández (Aprilia), Ogura's teammate, was leading the race. Fernández secured his first victory of the season, with Martín in second and Bezzecchi in third. Following the sprint race, Aprilia riders once again dominated the podium.

The high-speed Silverstone Circuit is known to be a good match for Aprilia's MotoGP machine, the RS-GP. Bezzecchi achieved his first victory on an Aprilia at Silverstone Circuit last year.

This season, the Aprilia RS-GP has seen successful development, increasing the number of "winnable circuits." However, the results of this British Grand Prix have also proven that they maintain their previous level of strength.

The 13th round, the Aragon Grand Prix, will be held at MotorLand Aragón from August 28th to 30th.

Aprilia dominates the podium in sprint and main races ©MotoGP.com