Japanese rider Ai Ogura claims his maiden MotoGP victory in Assen as Marco Bezzecchi’s crash hands the championship lead to Jorge Martin.
ASSEN: Japanese rider Ai Ogura claimed his maiden MotoGP win as Aprilia achieved another 1-2-3 finish but Marco Bezzecchi crashed and surrendered the overall championship lead to Jorge Martin in Sunday’s motorcycling Dutch Grand Prix.
At the heart of MotoGP thanks to their riders and manufacturers, Japan had been waiting nearly 22 years for a victory in the premier class.
And it was ultimately Ogura, the 2024 Moto2 world champion, who ended that wait with a first Japanese win since Makoto Tamada in 2004.
The 25-year-old, who had already shown great promise ahead of his 2025 debut in the elite class, has confirmed his talent this year.
Ogura delivered a masterful display in the Dutch heat, despite being hampered by a technical issue early in the race.
Initially trailing and holding third place for much of the race, he once again produced a blistering finish.
Ogura finished just over two seconds ahead of his Trackhouse teammate Raul Fernandez with another Spaniard Martin in third a further 1.5sec back on a winding and undulating track.
“It’s fantastic, I don’t have much to say but I’m really very happy. Many thanks to my team,” said Ogura.
Fernandez, winner of Saturday’s sprint, spent two-thirds of the race behind Martin before managing to overtake him only for Ogura, who had been biding his time, to pass his teammate shortly after and pull away for a scorching victory.
Ogura took pole last week in the Czech Republic but came second.
He also finished third at Le Mans in France in May to become the first Japanese rider to finish on a MotoGP podium since Katsuyuki Nakasuga at the Valencia Grand Prix in 2012.
Bezzecchi setback
In the championship, Martin takes the lead seven points ahead of Bezzecchi with Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio 16 behind the leader.
Bezzecchi crashed heavily on lap three at over 200kph. The Italian Aprilia rider was fortunate to separate from his bike early in the fall and was transferred to hospital, conscious but suffering “intense pain”.
After undergoing scans, his team confirmed later Sunday there were no injuries and the rider could return home.
It was another setback for Bezzecchi who sat out last week’s Czech Grand Prix as a penalty for slapping a track steward in the face following a crash in the sprint race.
Ogura moved up to fourth position, 25 points behind the leader, while Marc Marquez, the reigning world champion, is 40 points behind his compatriot in fifth.
“It’s incredible to lead the championship; the important thing for me is that I’ve made good progress with this bike and am increasingly adapting my riding style to this Aprilia,” said Martin.
This tenth round of the season at Assen’s “Cathedral of Speed” confirmed Aprilia’s superiority over Ducati, a manufacturer that had dominated MotoGP for over five years.
Ducati’s Marquez, who had won the previous two Grands Prix just a month after undergoing double surgery on his right shoulder and foot, was unable to match the Aprilias in the Netherlands.
Penalised one position for exceeding track limits, the 33-year-old Catalan finished a disappointing seventh and now trails Martin by 40 points.
However, the final round before the summer break, taking place in two weeks at his favourite circuit, the Sachsenring in Germany, where he has won nine times in MotoGP, could allow the seven-time world champion to narrow that gap.
