Neil Hodgson owes one rider an apology after Thailand Grand Prix, he thought it was a mistake to sign him

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Marc Marquez won the first Sprint of the 2025 MotoGP season at the Thailand Grand Prix. The new Ducati signing led home his brother Alex after a controlled performance.

Francesco Bagnaia was third, which he called a strong recovery from a disappointing Friday where he’d missed out on an automatic Q2 berth. Still, Marquez struck the first blow in the intra-team rivalry.

Moto2 world champion Ai Ogura was an outstanding fourth for Trackhouse, with VR46’s Franco Morbidelli fifth. Morbidelli has received a penalty for Sunday’s race after impeding Bagnaia in practice.

Pedro Acosta executed a fine move on Brad Binder, his KTM teammate, en route to sixth place. He also passed Fabio Quartararo (P7) in one of the few highlights during the second half of the race.

Binder crossed the line eighth, with Joan Mir scoring the last point for Honda. Mir has looked revitalised in Buriram on a resurgent RC16.

Neil Hodgson admits he was wrong about Ai Ogura after stunning Thailand Grand Prix performance

While Marquez won on debut in an ominous statement of intent, and his brother beat factory rider Bagnaia, Ogura was surely the standout rider in the Sprint. The expectation was that he’d need time to adapt.

Indeed, while fellow rookie Fermin Aldeguer has drawn Marc Marquez comparisons, he was only 13th on a bike that was evidently fast enough to finish on the podium. But Ogura stepped up as Aprilia’s lead rider following a poor start for Marco Bezzecchi.

The Japanese rider executed a thrilling overtake around the outside of Pramac’s Jack Miller at the first corner to take fourth. Even more impressively, one could argue, he then applied pressure to Bagnaia.

Trackhouse only finished higher than fourth in one race in the entirety of 2024. Miguel Oliveira finished second in the Sprint at the German Grand Prix.

Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage, Neil Hodgson admitted he was wrong about Ogura – and Trackhouse boss Davide Brivio was right. Hodgson felt the Americans should have signed Joe Roberts instead.

“Who would have thought at this point that Ai Ogura would be threatening Francesco Bagnaia?” he remarked. “One man who will have a huge smile on his face is Davide Brivio, the team manager from Trackhouse Racing.

“Do you remember eight months ago when they were trying to work out which rider to pick? We all said ‘you should go with Joe Roberts’. He was the only man who wanted Ai Ogura – wow, did he make the right decision.”

What Alex Rins told Marc Marquez about Ai Ogura before MotoGP season started

Commercially, Roberts seemed to make more sense as a US rider. However, he’s only taken two wins and eight podiums in the intermediate class since his 2017 debut.

As the champion, Ogura deserved a chance to step up. For all his confidence, surely even Brivio will be surprised by how well the 23-year-old has started.

Yamaha’s Alex Rins told Marquez he ‘couldn’t believe’ how fast Ogura was at the Sepang Shakedown this winter.

Ogura impressed Trackhouse with his work ethic during the off-season. His extensive preparation for his debut has already paid off before the main Grand Prix on Sunday.