First-Ever Back-to-Back MotoGP Treble! Marquez 1-2 as Bagnaia Disappoints
MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez takes the first-ever back-to-back MotoGP treble in Argentina as Bagnaia doesn't make the podium.
Trackhouse Racing has explained the technical error that led to Ai Ogura’s disqualification from the Argentina Grand Prix’s main race.
The Japanese rider initially finished eighth but was later removed from the results due to a rule violation concerning his Aprilia’s electronic control unit (ECU) software.
The FIM stewards outlined the reason behind the decision in their official document: “During the MotoGP race of the Argentina Grand Prix, [Ogura] was found to be using a software version (V21 b102) that had not been homologated by the championship.”
“This is in breach of Article 2.4.3.5.3 of the FIM MotoGP World Championship regulations, which govern electronic control units and inertial measurement units.”
The issue revolved around the ECU firmware, a critical component of modern MotoGP machinery, but further details emerged later through Trackhouse’s official statement.
“The Trackhouse team suffered the disqualification of bike #79 [Ogura’s] due to an error in the homologated firmware loaded onto the race machine.”
“While the mistake provided no performance advantage, Ai loses the eight points he earned in the main race and will head to the team’s home round at the Circuit of the Americas in eighth place in the championship.”
“A technical oversight led to the installation of an incorrect ECU on bike #79 for the main race in Argentina,” the statement continued.
“After the race, the stewards deemed this a violation of homologation regulations, resulting in Ai Ogura’s disqualification.”
“The error did not provide any performance benefit, as the bike’s electronic setup was correct but had been loaded with the wrong firmware.”
“Ai delivered an outstanding performance, recovering from 15th on the grid to finish eighth, but through no fault of his own, his bike was found to be non-compliant.”
Fabiano Sterlacchini, Aprilia’s technical director, provided additional context to The Race, explaining that teams had received a new ECU firmware during pre-season testing, but it had not yet been homologated.
After Ogura’s crash in Q1 at Termas de Río Hondo, the Trackhouse squad had to rebuild his RS-GP, inadvertently loading the unapproved software in the process.
Despite the ruling, Sterlacchini emphasized that Ogura did not gain any advantage: “The benefit was zero because the map we used was the correct one, where stability control is deactivated.”
“We also explained that all coefficients were set to ‘zero’ in terms of electronic adjustments. However, the firmware version itself was incorrect.”
“In terms of performance, nothing changed, but from a regulatory standpoint, the formal details matter. The disqualification is something we have to accept.”
Trackhouse team principal Davide Brivio echoed this sentiment, acknowledging the stewards’ ruling but expressing disappointment over the outcome:
“Ogura’s post-race penalty is very disappointing. We have to accept the decision, but we feel for Ai because this did not give him any advantage.”
“It’s frustrating to see him lose points after such a strong race. He delivered a fantastic comeback, and this doesn’t take anything away from his performance.”
“It was just an incorrect ECU software version. We move forward.”
