Ice-cool MotoGP rider was treated unfairly in chaotic Americas Grand Prix start, Neil Hodgson says

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Sunday’s Grand Prix of the Americas descended into utter chaos before the race had even started. Polesitter Marc Marquez bolted from the grid to change bikes, sparking a frenzy.

After light rain before the race, most riders opted for wet tyres. But moments before the warm-up lap, Marquez tried to catch his rivals out by darting towards the pit-lane.

Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia followed suit and their competitors reacted frantically. The rain had stopped, and the ambient temperature was high enough to dry the circuit quickly.

The start was subsequently delayed, with the vast majority of the field in the pit lane. The race was reduced to 19 laps.

Neil Hodgson says Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura deserved better at Americas Grand Prix

MotoGP changed the rules around race starts after the events of the 2018 Argentina GP. Jack Miller, who had opted for slicks on a drying track, was the only rider who remained on the grid.

The remaining 23 ditched the wet configuration at the last possible moment, which predictably put organisers in an impossible position. It was subsequently decided that the quick-start procedure would be used if necessary to avoid a mass pit-lane start.

Before the Americas Grand Prix, Trackhouse rookie Ai Ogura was in the Miller role. Ogura took the chance of opting for slicks, but didn’t see the reward.

Speaking on TNT Sports’ coverage, Neil Hodgson said the ‘cool’ Ogura deserved better.

“Look how cool Ai Ogura is,” he said. “If you’ve sat there and you’ve, let’s say, gambled with the right setting, which is a dry setting and slicks, you should get the advantage like Jack Miller did all those years ago.”

What furious Trackhouse boss Davide Brivio said after Ai Ogura lost out

Speaking on the world feed broadcast, Trackhouse team manager Davide Brivio admitted he was ‘very upset’. He felt the riders who abandoned their wet bikes deserved to be punished.

“I’m very upset, because that’s not a way to manage a start,” he said. “The riders who left the grid left the grid, they made their choice. We took a risk, we took a gamble.”

The good news for Brivio was that Ogura went on to finish P9, a result that saw him climb to sixth in the championship. Raul Fernandez’s P12 made it a double points finish.

Brivio warned Ogura he’d face ‘difficult’ moments after his dazzling debut in Thailand, and sure enough, he was disqualified in Argentina for a technical breach. But on the whole, the Japanese rider has made an excellent start to his career in the premier class.