#CATALANGP – MOTO2: OGURA CHARGES TO VICTORY AS ALDEGUER CRASHES
After an explosive Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) leaves Barcelona victorious after a perfect ride in tricky conditions from 10th on the grid. Ogura charged through the field on the first lap of the Grand Prix and was able to save his tyre to take his first victory since 2022. Ogura finished ahead of his teammate Sergio Garcia, making it an MT Helmets – MSI one-two. Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) took the final spot on the podium after a sensational ride in the closing laps.
Once the lights went out it was a dramatic start with Garcia converting his pole position into a race lead at turn 1, with teammate Ogura rocketing from 10th on the first lap after taking a different line on the run to the first corner.
Izan Guevara (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia’s Somkiat Chantra became the first crashes of the race, with their races coming to an end at the opening corner. Later on, on the first lap, Ayumu Sasaki (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team) crashed out of the Catalan GP before Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) and Daniel Muñoz (Pertamina Mandalika GAS UP Team) faced the same fate one lap later.
It did not take Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) long to steal the race lead with the #54 pulling off an impressive move at turn 10 on lap three of the Grand Prix. Aldeguer put the hammer down and instantly stretched his lead to one second early on – showing confidence in his strategy.
At the front, it looked to be a Kalex vs Boscoscuro battle with Aldeguer leading Garcia, with their teammate Alonso Lopez (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) and Ogura battling for the final spot on the podium. Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) was charging hard and with Lopez soon dropping to fourth it gave the perfect invitation for the #44 to attack.
However, everything changed when Aldeguer was handed a long lap for exceeding track with the #54 losing the front and crashing out on the entry to the long lap loop. Moments later Canet soon became the victim of turn 5 – crashing out of the race. Amidst the drama, Garcia was promoted to the lead with Ogura catching and soon passing his teammate on lap 18. Dixon also found a way through on Lopez for third with the #21 struggling to find pace.
All of this drama allowed Ogura to storm to an incredible victory in Barcelona after a fantastic performance, finishing ahead of his teammate in a brilliant result for the MT Helmets squad. Dixon was a further five seconds behind and was delighted with his first podium of the season.
Taking a remarkable fourth was Jeremy Alcoba (Yamaha VR46 Master Camp Team), who found a way through on Lopez in the closing laps to finish ahead of Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP), who rounded out the top five after serving a long lap. Albert Arenas (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) finished in sixth after a strong end to the race to finish in front of Lopez who dropped to eighth at the line after the Spaniard struggled with his tyres in the closing stages of the race.
Meanwhile, it was damage limitation for Roberts after the American was promoted to eighth in the results after finishing in 11th on the track. This was due to Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) being dropped one position after the race and Zonta Van Den Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) dropping two positions after the race due to not serving his long lap. Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing team) was disqualified from the Grand Prix after the #24 used a tyre which was allocated to teammate Roberts.
Behind Roberts was Arbolino in ninth place, who took a solid points scoring finish in Barcelona. Also capitalising on the race’s outcome was Jorge Navarro (KLINT Forward Factory Team), who was promoted to 10th in the results – adding to what has been a strong weekend for the #9.
IT WAS A VERY DIFFICULT WEEKEND. RIGHT FROM FREE PRACTICE WE COULDN’T FIND THE RIGHT FIT AND IN THE RACE I UNFORTUNATELY CRASHED. I AM VERY SORRY, ESPECIALLY FOR THE WHOLE TEAM, WHO ARE WORKING VERY HARD TO FIND THE BEST SOLUTION TOGETHER. NOW WE LOOK TO MUGELLO, WITH THE GOAL OF FINISHING AT THE TOP OF THE STANDINGS.
DENNIS FOGGIA – NC
A DIFFICULT WEEKEND. I REALLY WANT TO THANK THE TEAM FOR ALL THE WORK WE ARE DOING TOGETHER. WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK HARD TO FIND THE RIGHT FEELING AND THE BEST SOLUTIONS. AHEAD OF US IS THE TEAM’S HOME RACE: AT MUGELLO WE WILL CONTINUE TO WORK HARD TO BE WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
DIOGO MOREIRA – NC
IT WAS A MORE COMPLICATED RACE, BUT IT’S TRUE THAT DURING THE RACE WE ALL SUFFERED A LOT. BUT WE MANAGED TO TURN IT AROUND ON SUNDAY. I’M HAPPY WITH THESE POINTS AND I WANT TO THANK THE TEAM FOR ALL THEIR WORK.
JAUME MASIA – P13
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Catalonya.