AI OGURA BACK TO MOTO2™ WINNING WAYS IN BREATHTAKING BARCELONA GP
The Triumph powered Moto2 field returned to Barcelona for the Grand Prix of Catalunya this weekend. Championship leader Sergio Garcia got the weekend off to a great start setting a new all-time lap record with a 1m 41.894. In Saturday’s qualifying he scored his first Moto2 pole position ahead of Fermin Aldeguer and Celestino Vietti on the front row of the grid.
In Sunday’s race under glorious sunshine, Garcia got a great start from pole to lead from Albert Arenas who shot from fifth to second and Ai Ogura who flew through the pack from tenth to third.
It was a dramatic few laps with a number of riders crashing out and being issued with track limit warnings and long lap penalties shaking things up. Back at the front Garcia and Aldeguer were battling it out for the lead with Arenas, Vietti and Alonso Lopez fighting it out for third as Ogura dropped back from his lightning start to sixth. The Japanese rider was soon picking his way back through again.
Aron Canet didn’t get a good start going from fourth on the grid to eighth early on. Some tense battles followed for the Spaniard with riders trading places up and down the field. He got himself back up into fourth before crashing out.
Aldeguer and Garcia were starting to pull a gap at the front but Aldeguer was issued with a long lap penalty and then dramatically crashed out while serving the penalty, gifting Garcia the lead and promoting Ogura and Lopez into second and third. Jake Dixon was catching quickly and made an excellent pass on Lopez into third and Ogura was quickly catching his teammate before passing him to take the lead.
Ogura started to pull away from teammate Garcia to take the victory, his first win since Japan last year. Garcia held onto second making it a one-two for the team for the second race in a row. Dixon took third for his first points of the year after a difficult start to the season and his first podium since he won here last year. Jeremy Alcoba took fourth after a sublime ride from 22nd on the grid ahead of Senna Agius who finished fifth despite serving a long-lap penalty.
Triumph Triple Trophy
Triumph and MotoGP announced a new format for the Triumph Triple Trophy for 2024, where the winner will take home a Street Triple 765 RS prize bike at the end of the season.
This year, a judging panel picks a short list of three standout riders which will be published on MotoGP’s Instagram stories. Fans can then vote for their favourite.
The points awarded are in reference to Triumph’s 765cc engine:
- 7 points for the rider with most fan votes
- 6 points for the rider with second most fan votes
- 5 points for the rider with third most fan votes
This week, Triumph ambassador and most successful motocross race of all time, Ricky Carmichael, was on the judging panel and the shortlist is:
- Jeremy Alcoba for an incredible ride going from 22nd on the grid to fourth.
- Ai Ogura who went from tenth on the grid to take his first win in 27 races.
- Jake Dixon who went from 11th on the grid to third scoring his first points this year after injury and his first podium since he won here last year.
Look out for the Instagram stories on MotoGP’s official Instagram account @motogp to vote for your favourite.
The Moto2 action returns next weekend for round seven in Mugello, 31 May to 2 June.
#PoweredByTriumph #TriumphOfficial
The Triumph Moto2™ 765cc race engine is a development of the class-leading Street Triple RS 765cc road motorcycle and produces more than 140PS and the same visceral soundtrack. The top-spec Street Triple RS variant is as perfectly suited to the track as it is the road.
