Ai Ogura Clinches Moto2 Title as Red Flag Halts Rainy Thai GP Moto2 Race
Ai Ogura secures the 2024 Moto2 title in a rain-affected Thai Grand Prix, as Aron Canet claims his third season win before red flags end the race.
“It is just unbelievable. What went through my mind was all the faces of people I’ve worked with. From my team now, but the Cup, the CEV, and Moto3. I can’t say thanks enough to everybody. It just feels amazing. I have got no words, but I am really happy.”
Starting the race from pole position, Ai Ogura decided for a more strategic approach. Despite a strong initial get-away, the Japanese, cautious not to end his first title match ball early, fell back to 7th while he was waiting for the conditions to improve.
“I decided to understand the track first,” he explained, recognizing the still-damp track wasn’t ideal for an all-out charge. “The condition wasn’t perfect yet, and I focused on safety.”
“They were either sliding at the front or the back,” he observed. “When the feeling was better”, Ogura “was able to catch [his rivals] one by one”.
“For a moment, I thought I was trying to catch up with Aron. But when it got wet, I didn’t want to take any crazy risks.”
Consistency had been the defining element of Ogura’s season and with just five laps left and light rain setting in, he decided to keep it that way. Following his near miss at the Moto2 title in 2022, the Japanese didn’t want to miss out once again due to mistake of his own.
“In Austria, I told myself that I wouldn’t lose the World Championship a second time. I wanted to make it.”
At the heart of it all was a deeply personal goal, which Ogura admits meant more than simply moving up to MotoGP.
“I know who I am and what I can do. I always realized that there are riders with more talent but my biggest goal was to be number one one day – that means more to me than having made it into MotoGP.”
