– Since the European start of the MotoGP season, the balance of power has shifted significantly. While Aprilia set the tone at the beginning of the season, Ducati fought its way back over the past few months.
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At the same time, one rider in particular caused a stir: Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura collected more points on the European tracks than any other rider in the same period.
Ai Ogura with impressive consistency
Since the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez at the end of April, the Japanese rider has developed into the most successful points collector in the entire field. In the eight European races from Jerez to the Sachsenring, he collected a total of 157 World Championship points, averaging 19.6 points per race weekend. This moved Ogura up to second place in the overall standings, only behind Aprilia brand colleague Jorge Martin.
Already in the first overseas races, last year’s rookie had shown strong form and benefited from the progress of the Aprilia RS-GP. While other Aprilia riders repeatedly suffered setbacks later in the season, Ogura particularly impressed with his consistency.
Top point-scoring riders since the European start (from Jerez)
| Place | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ai Ogura | 157 |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | 145 |
| 3 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | 134 |
| 4 | Jorge Martin | 131 |
| 5 | Raul Fernandez | 119 |
| 6 | Francesco Bagnaia | 118 |
| 7 | Marco Bezzecchi | 105 |
| 8 | Pedro Acosta | 88 |
Together with his known performance strength in the second half of the race, Ogura has now established himself as a serious candidate in the title fight. However, whether he can permanently withstand this pressure already in his second MotoGP season will only become clear in the coming months.
Marc Marquez makes an impressive comeback
With 145 points since the European start, Marc Marquez is in second place in this special ranking. His record is all the more remarkable because the Ducati factory rider missed both the Sunday race in Le Mans and the entire Barcelona weekend after an operation.
Only after his return in Mugello did Marquez regain the form he had lacked since his crash in Indonesia last October. Since then, the world champion has once again set the standard in the field and won three of the last four Grands Prix. After collecting only 45 points in the first three race weekends, another 145 have been added since the European start.
Top point-scoring riders of the last four race weekends
| Place | Rider | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | 119 |
| 2 | Ai Ogura | 102 |
| 3 | Raul Fernandez | 72 |
| 4 | Francesco Bagnaia | 61 |
| 5 | Jorge Martin | 52 |
| 6 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | 50 |
| 7 | Pedro Acosta | 45 |
| 8 | Enea Bastianini | 37 |
| 9 | Luca Marini | 33 |
| 10 | Alex Marquez | 20 |
| 11 | Marco Bezzecchi | 13 |
Di Giannantonio establishes himself in the top group
Fabio Di Giannantonio also confirmed his strong form. The VR46 rider collected 134 points since Jerez and is thus in third place in the European standings. His victory in Catalonia in particular earned him important points in the title fight. Only at the Sachsenring did the Italian suffer a setback.
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Although Jorge Martin took the lead in the World Championship in the summer, his season has been extremely inconsistent so far. Outstanding results were repeatedly contrasted with difficult weekends. In addition, sometimes severe crashes also set him back physically.
Fernandez and Bagnaia underperformed
Raul Fernandez and Francesco Bagnaia are separated by just one point in the European part of the season so far. Fernandez has 119 points, Bagnaia 118.
However, both were unable to exploit their full potential. Fernandez was temporarily slowed down by health problems, while Bagnaia repeatedly struggled with technical difficulties and thus lost points.
Marco Bezzecchi’s form collapses
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Marco Bezzecchi, on the other hand, is among the biggest losers of the past few weeks. Although the Italian collected a total of 105 points since Jerez and celebrated a dominant Grand Prix victory in Mugello, a significant drop in performance followed his home race, which continued until recently.
Bezzecchi thus came away empty-handed on the last four race Sundays. Only a few decent sprint results prevented him from ending June and July completely without points. A total of only 13 points were added during this period.
Ducati vs. Aprilia: The pendulum continues to swing
The start of the European season also marked a turning point in the balance of power between Aprilia and Ducati. After Aprilia had dominated the season opener, Ducati fought its way back during the European races. Since then, the distribution of roles has changed several times. Depending on the track characteristics, one or the other Italian manufacturer had advantages over the competition.
After the summer break, four more European races are scheduled for August and September. The MotoGP then travels to a series of five overseas events in the Asia-Pacific region before the season concludes at the end of November in Portugal and Valencia.
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