Ai Ogura Claims Maiden MotoGP Victory as Trackhouse Dominates Assen

Japanese rookie delivers stunning late-race charge to secure his first premier-class win while Trackhouse Racing celebrates another one-two finish.

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Ai Ogura produced a sensational performance at the Dutch Grand Prix to claim his maiden MotoGP victory, leading a memorable one-two finish for Trackhouse Racing at the TT Circuit Assen.

After several podium finishes earlier this season, the Japanese rookie finally stood on the top step of the podium thanks to another trademark late-race charge. Patient throughout the opening stages, Ogura steadily worked his way forward before overtaking Jorge Martin and later passing teammate Raul Fernandez to take the race lead.

Once in front, the 2025 Moto2 World Champion pulled away from the chasing pack, crossing the finish line with a comfortable two-second advantage to seal his first MotoGP victory.

The result also ended a 22-year wait for a Japanese premier-class winner, making Ogura the first rider from Japan to win a MotoGP race since Makoto Tamada’s triumph at the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix.

Trackhouse Racing enjoyed another outstanding weekend as Raul Fernandez completed the team’s one-two finish, highlighting the Aprilia satellite squad’s growing competitiveness in the championship.

Jorge Martin, who led the opening half of the race, was unable to match the pace of the Trackhouse duo in the closing laps. Nevertheless, the factory Aprilia rider secured a valuable third-place finish after another strong weekend, ending the race almost six seconds ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio, who was the highest-finishing Ducati rider in fourth.

Reigning world champion Marc Marquez described Assen as a weekend of “survival,” with the fast, flowing Dutch circuit not among his favourites. Despite struggling throughout the race, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider battled hard to finish seventh after successfully defending his position against several challengers during the closing laps.

It proved to be a frustrating afternoon for Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia, whose race ended prematurely on lap 15 following a technical issue while running fourth.

Championship contender Marco Bezzecchi endured another difficult weekend after crashing out at Turn 15 on just the second lap. The incident marked his third consecutive Sunday without scoring points, following his crash in Hungary and subsequent suspension from the Czech Grand Prix. The Italian was taken to the circuit’s medical centre before being transferred to hospital for further evaluation.

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo capitalised on the retirements ahead to finish eighth, securing his first top-10 result since placing fifth at the Catalan Grand Prix over a month ago.

Despite losing the race victory, Martin remained encouraged by the progress made throughout the weekend.

“First of all, I’d like to send my wishes to Marco for a lot of strength,” said Martin. “I saw the crash and it’s never nice to see a rider go down that way, especially when it’s your teammate.”

“It was a good weekend and we earned some important points. I’m particularly happy with the step forward we have taken in terms of speed and feeling. I stayed in the lead for 16 laps and that is an important sign. I gave one hundred percent from the start and tried to manage the tyres for the finale, but in the end I simply had nothing left.”

The championship battle has tightened significantly heading into the summer break. Martin now leads the standings by just seven points over Bezzecchi after the Italian’s latest setback, while the chasing group continues to close in.

MotoGP now heads to the iconic Sachsenring for the final round before the summer break, with Martin looking to defend his slender championship advantage at a circuit that has traditionally favoured Marc Marquez.