Ai Ogura disqualified from MotoGP Argentina GP

MotoGP rookie Ai Ogura has been disqualified from Sunday’s Argentina Grand Prix following a technical irregularity on his Trackhouse Racing Aprilia.

The decision means the Japanese rider loses his impressive eighth place, to which he battled from 15th on the starting grid. He also loses the eight points he would have earned.

According to a statement issued by the stewards on Sunday evening at Termas de Rio Hondo, the team was running non-approved software during the grand prix.

According to the official text, Ogura was “found to be using a non-homologated software version (V21 b102), that had not been approved by Championship.  

“This contravenes Article 2.4.3.5.3  Electronic Control Unit and Inertial Measurement Unit of the FIM Grand Prix World Championship Regulations.”

Ironically, Ogura’s exclusion from the results gifts an unexpected point to his struggling Trackhouse team-mate Raúl Fernández, who moves up to 15th place in the revised classification. That opens Fernandez’s points account for the season.

In contrast to Fernandez, Ogura has had a stellar start to the year, his first in MotoGP after stepping up from Moto2.

Ogura finished fifth in the Thai Grand Prix two weeks ago, to go with a fourth place in the sprint on that opening weekend of the season.

The 17-point haul he picked up in Asia means he still lies eighth in the points standings despite a zero-score in Argentina, where he could only manage 15th in the sprint.