Title Challenger Ogura Grabs Fourth At Silverstone
Silverstone CircuitAi Ogura (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Kalex) snatched fourth place with a daring move on the final lap at sunny Silverstone today. The World Championship challenger was in the lead group throughout the race, after starting from the front row of the grid and leading the first lap.
The 21-year-old from Tokyo took the chequered flag only 1.741 seconds behind winner Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull Ajo Kalex), who shared the podium with runner-up Alonso Lopez (CAG Speed Up Boscoscuro) and third-placed local star Jake Dixon (GASGAS Aspar Team).
The top five were closely matched throughout, with Ogura running third for much of the first half of the 18-lap race, battling hard with his rivals. In the mid stages he struggled with his pace, which lost him third to Fernandez, who had come through from fourth at the end of the first lap. Then Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40 Kalex) took fourth from Ogura on the penultimate lap, but the winner of May’s Spanish GP successfully reclaimed the position on the final lap. He now stands second overall in the title chase, 13 points behind Fernandez, with eight of 20 races remaining.
Team-mate Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Kalex) also rode a good race, but he knows that it would have been better if he hadn’t lost rear grip in the early stages, which lost him time exiting corners. Nonetheless he came through from 16th on the grid to finish 13th, for three valuable World Championship points. The 23-year-old Indonesian rider now stands tenth in the championship.
Behind Canet the top ten was completed by Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team Kalex), Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex), Jorge Navarro (Flexbox HP40 Kalex), Filip Salac (Gresini Racing Moto2 Kalex) and Bo Bendsneyder (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team Kalex).
Moto2 riders and teams now recross the English Channel and head to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix on August 21.
I started the race quite well, being in the pack at the beginning. In the middle of the race I couldn’t find the speed of the top two guys. They opened a gap in the end. Until the last lap I fought, doing my maximum. I’m slightly disappointed about this because I was expecting a faster race from my side. But I finished as best as possible today.
I started the race quite well, being in the pack at the beginning. In the middle of the race I couldn’t find the speed of the top two guys. They opened a gap in the end. Until the last lap I fought, doing my maximum. I’m slightly disappointed about this because I was expecting a faster race from my side. But I finished as best as possible today.
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In morning warm-up I tried to adjust the bike to be ready to push from the beginning. But very soon I started to lose the grip on the rear tyre; so it was impossible to open the gas as I wanted. I adapted my riding to conserve the tyre. I pushed to maintain my position in the group to finish 13th. There are three crucial points in a challenging circuit for me. We have many things to learn here, but I hope everything will improve in Austria.
In morning warm-up I tried to adjust the bike to be ready to push from the beginning. But very soon I started to lose the grip on the rear tyre; so it was impossible to open the gas as I wanted. I adapted my riding to conserve the tyre. I pushed to maintain my position in the group to finish 13th. There are three crucial points in a challenging circuit for me. We have many things to learn here, but I hope everything will improve in Austria.
