A historic pole position, but one that also certifies the balance and the alternation of names that has been created in the last few weeks in MotoGP. In Brno it will be Ai Ogura Starting first in the Czech Republic Grand Prix, confirming the remarkable growth of his Aprilia Trackhouse. Three Italians followed him, bringing smiles to three different teams. Marc Marquez damage control, while bad news comes from his brother Alex and from Jorge Martin. Who, after having set his sights on his teammate's world championship leadership in recent months Marco Bezzecchi, in the meantime it seems to have gone back almost a year.
Saturday morning's spotlight still goes to Ogura, who with his astonishing 1:51.139 beats or updates several personal and national records. This is his first career front row start, as well as his all-time front row start in MotoGP. Not only that, but not since Teruel 2020 has a Japanese rider led the grid (Takaaki Nakagami), and no Japanese rider has ever achieved such a feat at such a young age. The Team Trackhouse rider is 25 years, 4 months, and 26 days old; before him, the youngest rider was the late Daijiro Kato at Motegi 2022, at 26 years, 3 months, and 2 days. But broadening the discussion, Saturday's performance in Brno doesn't appear to be an isolated feat, but rather the exclamation point of a process already underway. It's no coincidence that in 2026, it has already produced two fourth-place finishes, three fifth-place finishes, and a podium at Le Mans. And who knows, perhaps an even more prestigious result will soon be achieved.
Meanwhile, however, the gaps are truly small, especially considering they come from a circuit nearly two minutes long. Ogura finished just two tenths ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio, who remains the most in-form rider in the entire Ducati field. But three other MotoGP big names are just 0.86 seconds behind. Perhaps the most anticipated early in the season: Pecco Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi, and Marc Marquez. The Piedmontese rider will close the front row, yet his approach remains the same as in recent times: never overdo the optimism. "Yesterday's change didn't work, especially in the direction changes," he emphasized. "We were too slow, we went back to yesterday's setup and will try other solutions this afternoon. The Aprilias are very strong, but we're not there." Martin's performance was a lackluster one for the Noale manufacturer, who will start tenth, also having to serve two Long Lap Penalties for the events in Hungary. Alex Marquez, on the other hand, finished 14th but it was of little use: he was in too much pain after the injury, and he wouldn't even be able to race.
Ai Ogura riding the Aprilia RS-GP26 Trackhouse Racing (Credits: trackhouse.com)
