Ai Ogura and Davide Brivio have reacted to the MotoGP Rookie's disqualification from the Argentine Grand Prix.
After crossing the line in eighth place, Ai Ogura was disqualified from the Argentine Grand Prix.
The Trackhouse Racing rider had been using a "non-homologated ECU" on his Aprilia RS-GP. Despite the part adding no benefit to his machine MotoGP Race Direction removed him from the official results.
This decision has dropped Ogura from fifth in the early MotoGP World Championship standings to eighth.
"The race was really good," Ogura said.
"I was lucky after the start and gained a lot of positions and after that, I could pass a few riders, I was riding with very good pace.
"In warm up we found something and that made it a lot easier to go faster in the race. I think on the brakes, I was ok to pass the other riders, but against Binder, it was really tough to get past.
"On the exit, I had a bit more compared to him but on the brakes, he was doing very well. I was a little bit disappointed about my last lap, that I couldn’t find a way to pass Binder, but anyway, it was a great race and I’m really happy about today.
"I’m happy about the weekend, but especially Sunday. It is a great sadness that the result cannot stand."
Davide Brivio's reaction to the disqualification:
Trackhouse Racing had already released a statement of their own regarding Ogura's disqualification. But the Trackhouse Racing Team Manager, Davide Brivio, also addressed the situation.
The Italian has labelled the decision as 'very disappointing' but has praised the MotoGP Rookie for his performance at Termas de Rio Hondo.
"The post-race sanction against Ai is very disappointing," said team principal Davide Brivio.
"We have to accept the decision of the Stewards but feel very sorry for Ai because this didn’t give him any advantage and it’s so disappointing to take away points from a great race and the great performance that he did on track.
"It doesn’t take away anything for what he has done. It was just a wrong version of the software in the ECU. He did a great race, a fantastic recovery and we move on and we will continue."
