MotoGP 2026: Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura wins the Dutch Grand Prix

Trackhouse Aprilia Racing’s Ai Ogura produced the ride of his career to claim his maiden MotoGP victory in a dramatic Dutch Grand Prix at Assen. Ogura also became the first Japanese rider to win in the premier class since Makoto Tamada in 2004.

A chaotic start

As the lights went out, pole sitter Jorge Martin on the Factory Aprilia made a great start and maintained the lead of the race, in the first set of corners. Behind him, however, team mate Marco Bezzecchi made a bad start and was swallowed by the Trackhouse Aprilia duo of Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez.

The race took a decisive turn on the third lap when championship leader Bezzecchi crashed heavily at Turn 15 while he was in the tail of Marc Marquez’s Factory Ducati.

The Italian was later taken to hospital for precautionary checks after the high-speed accident.

All Aprilia battle

With Bezzecchi out, the battle for victory became an all-Aprilia affair. Fernandez led for much of the race after making light work of passing Martin. However, Ogura was super quick in the mid part of the race.

Despite a small issue with the rear ride height device that sorted itself out, Ogura gained on the Martin and Fernandez. He quickly passed Martin and was glued to his teammate’s rear wheel before making a decisive move in the closing laps.

The Japanese rookie then managed the gap perfectly to take his first MotoGP win and complete a memorable one-two finish for Trackhouse Racing.

Jorge Martin leads the MotoGP World Championship

Martin settled for third after leading early in the race, while Fabio Di Giannantonio recovered from a long-lap penalty to finish fourth.

Following Bez’s miserable run in the last three Grand Prixs, in which he failed to finish and score any points, Jorge Martin now moves to the top of the table. The Spaniard is seven points ahead of Bezzecchi. Ogura’s landmark victory also lifts him into title contention.

The next round of the MotoGP world championship will be held from July 10-12 at the Sachsenring in Germany.