Marc Marquez ‘laughed in surprise’ when he heard how fast one MotoGP rider was at Thailand Grand Prix

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Marc Marquez’s domination at the Thailand Grand Prix was entirely predictable. He was quickest in testing and he carried that speed into the first MotoGP weekend.

Elsewhere in the field, however, there were surprises. Marquez expected his brother Alex to fade away in the Sprint after the Gresini rider qualified second, but he followed him home on both Saturday and Sunday.

Marquez jr was able to hold off Ducati factory rider Francesco Bagnaia even on an inferior bike. After a difficult 2024, Franco Morbidelli also impressed, scoring an excellent P4 on his VR46 debut.

Elsewhere, LCR’s Johann Zarco bagged his best result as a Honda rider in seventh. The Japanese manufacturer have made a leap since last year, when they miserably propped up the championship.

And few would have expected Enea Bastianini to score points. Bastianini endured a miserable pre-season at Tech3 as he tried to adapt to the KTM bike, but he rallied to finish ninth in Buriram.

Marc Marquez in awe of Ai Ogura debut at Thailand Grand Prix

As commendable as the aforementioned performances were, Ai Ogura was surely the star of the weekend. Ogura finished an outstanding fifth in his first-ever race, having come home fourth in the Sprint.

This was the best result for a debutant since 2013, when Marquez finished third at the Qatar Grand Prix. The Spaniard went on to win the title that year, of course.

While that’s not a realistic target for Ogura this season, he will come to be regarded as a future world champion if he can consistently produce results like this. Even Pedro Acosta only finished ninth on his debut last year.

In the absence of Jorge Martin, the Trackhouse signing was the lead rider for Aprilia, leaving Marco Bezzecchi in his shadow. According to Australian Motorcycle News, race winner Marquez ‘laughed in surprise’ when he was told about Ogura’s pace.

Trackhouse footage shares what Davide Brivio said to Ai Ogura after the Thai GP

Ogura learned from following Francesco Bagnaia in the Sprint and impressively stuck within eight seconds of the leader during the main Grand Prix. It’s exciting to consider just how good he can be when he’s fully adapted to the premier class.

Neil Hodgson says Martin would have hated watching Ogura in Thailand. That’s not a reflection of his riding – instead, the Spaniard will be ruing the missed opportunity on what was clearly a very competitive RS-GP25.

Hodgson apologised to Ogura for recommending that Trackhouse sign Moto2 rival Joe Roberts instead. He’s immediately justified Davide Brivio’s faith.

A video posted by Trackhouse on social media shows Brivio congratulating Ogura in the pit lane. The delighted-looking team boss said ‘well done’ as he gave his new signing a pat on the back.