Ai Ogura is forced to sit out for the second consecutive race weekend. A left thumb injury has sidelined the Trackhouse Racing rider for this weekend's Misano GP, after previously missing the MotorLand Aragon round last month. The good news is that the team expects Ogura to return at the Austrian GP next weekend.
The injury was sustained in a motocross training crash at the end of the summer break. Ogura underwent surgery on his left thumb in Barcelona on August 27. A follow-up check was scheduled for September 8, but the medical team led by Dr. Xavier Mir advised him to skip Misano. The decision was made on Wednesday and has been publicly confirmed by the team.
Team principal Davide Brivio explained the medical reasoning behind Ogura's absence. "This track is quite demanding for his injury," he said. "There are a lot of direction changes to the left here. That would probably have put a strain on him. A crash could have made the situation even worse. So we're taking one more week."
Brivio added that the main target is to return in Austria. "From that point of view, the track should be less demanding: the corners are mostly right-handers, and you only have to brake in a straight line. What matters is that he's fully recovered. After all, the season finale is still ahead of us, and we can get good results in Asia if Ai is in good shape."
The two missed races have clearly hit Ogura's title chances. After Silverstone, he was third in the standings, 37 points behind leader Jorge Martin. That gap has now grown to 53 points. While mathematically not impossible, his path to the title is becoming increasingly steep.
Interestingly, Ogura is not rushing back despite the injury not being severe. A similar situation applies to Formula 1 driver Isack Hadjar, who is missing three races due to a hand injury. Is this a sign of a paradigm shift in motorsport? Francesco Guidotti, who will take over Brivio's role in 2027, shared his views with Motorsport.com.
"It's less about attitude and more about the demands of the job," Guidotti said. "A few years ago, it was easier to ride a motorcycle while injured. Today the bikes are so powerful and physically demanding that it's genuinely dangerous, both for the rider himself and for the other riders, if you're not fit. So in that sense there has been a shift in mindset, because the physical demands of riding have changed dramatically."
Once, Jorge Lorenzo's tale at Assen 2013 was legendary. He broke his left collarbone in a wet practice crash, flew to Barcelona, had surgery, returned to Assen, and finished fifth. However, with modern bikes being heavier and more powerful, such sacrifices are becoming rarer. The priority now is full recovery for safety and long-term performance.
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