MotoGP before Spielberg: Ogura returns, but he is 71 points adrift

• Ai Ogura: comeback planned in Spielberg, the MotoGP doctors decide on Thursday
• Quartararo says he thinks about his first ride on the Honda every evening
• Bulega can wrap up the Superbike world title early in Cremona this weekend

Just one week after the San Marino Grand Prix in Misano, the 2026 MotoGP season continues from 18 to 20 September at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. The season is heading into its closing stretch, and there are several talking points in the paddock. At the centre is the comeback of Ai Ogura, who was still among the title contenders before his injury. On top of that, a world champion already has his mind on his new manufacturer. Valentino Rossi has commented on a 2027 signing with a long history with his team. And at Tech3, a rider decision goes the same way for the fourth time in a row.

When does Ai Ogura return to MotoGP?

Ai Ogura intends to make his comeback at the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend. The condition is that he passes the mandatory medical examination at the circuit on Thursday.

The SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team confirmed his return in an official statement on Tuesday evening. It reads: “Provided he passes the mandatory medical examination on Thursday, he will be back on the RS-GP26 and ready to work his way back to his old pace after a month out.” The clearance is down to Dr Angel Charte, the medical director of MotoGP. Only with his approval may Ogura take his number 79 Aprilia out in Friday’s first free practice session.

The Japanese rider has some difficult weeks behind him. During the summer break he crashed while motocross training at home in Japan. At the end of August he travelled to Barcelona, where the team around Dr Xavier Mir diagnosed a fracture at the base of his left thumb and operated on him. As a result, Ogura had to sit out the Aragon Grand Prix. After ten days of rehabilitation, another check-up followed at the Dexeus university clinic. The surgeons advised him against starting in Misano at the time, and Ogura continued his treatment in Barcelona.

What chance does Ai Ogura still have of the MotoGP title?

Mathematically the title is still possible, but the task has become very big. Ogura sits sixth on 203 points, 71 behind championship leader Marc Marquez.

A look back at Silverstone shows how quickly the situation turned. After finishing second in the sprint at the British GP on 8 August, Ogura was second in the standings and just 17 points behind the then leader Jorge Martin. A day later he crashed in the Grand Prix and dropped to third, 37 points behind Martin and six behind Marco Bezzecchi, who was second at the time. Since that Sunday, Ogura has not scored a single point. Over the same period Marquez collected 109 points and took over the championship lead after his double wins in Aragon and Misano.

At the top, Marquez and Martin are level on 274 points each ahead of the Spielberg weekend, with Marquez heading the standings. Behind them come Bezzecchi on 241, Fabio Di Giannantonio on 223, Pedro Acosta on 209 and Ogura on 203. His team-mate Raul Fernandez is right behind him on 199 points.

Seven Grands Prix and a total of 259 points are still up for grabs before the end of the season. To catch Marquez, Ogura would have to take an average of a good ten points per weekend out of him. The fight for the top three in the standings is more realistic: he is 38 points off third place.

Who replaces Maverick Vinales at the Austrian GP?

Pol Espargaro again rides the Tech3 KTM of the injured Maverick Vinales in Spielberg. For KTM’s official test and reserve rider it is his fourth outing in a row.

Vinales has not raced since 12 July. At the German Grand Prix he retired shortly before the end. This season the Spaniard has contested only eight Grands Prix and scored points in four of them. His recovery is taking longer than originally hoped. Tech3 still hopes he will be fit again for the Japanese Grand Prix.

Espargaro has several jobs this year. Alongside his outings at Silverstone, Aragon, Misano and now Spielberg, he is working with Dani Pedrosa on the development of KTM’s 850cc bike for 2027. He is testing it at Mugello on Tuesday and Wednesday. He scored points in two of his three previous stand-in appearances. Tech3 team manager Nicolas Goyon stresses how much the home race means to the manufacturer: “It means a lot to have Pol for our factory’s home race in Austria.” In his view, Espargaro looks more comfortable and more competitive with every outing, and Misano was another step forward. Even so, the priority remains Vinales’ recovery.

How does Fabio Quartararo view his move to Honda?

Quartararo looks ahead to the switch with anticipation and a certain tension. By his own account, the Frenchman thinks every evening before going to sleep about how his first ride on the Honda will go.

That does not only concern the first test in Valencia. The 27-year-old has spent his entire MotoGP career at Yamaha, so the move is a major break for him. It is not nervousness as such, he says, more a mixture of desire and excitement. He describes his attitude clearly: “if I’ve made the decision to go there, it’s to give it everything I’ve got”.

Until then, Quartararo has another three months with Yamaha. After a tense phase around the Aragon GP, the two sides are said to have agreed in Misano to bring their time together to an orderly end. The Frenchman says the situation is being portrayed as bigger in the press than it is. Of course the relationship used to be better, he says, but nobody should imagine a war either. After eight years together, this is not the time for a fight. He does not want to comment further on Yamaha’s decision not to let him take part in the test on the Monday after the Austrian GP. In Yamaha’s position he might have decided the same way, he says.

Why did Quartararo choose Honda and not Ducati?

Quartararo believes Honda can build a competitive bike under the new regulations. In his view, the manufacturer has wanted to win again for years and is putting every resource into that goal.

With the rule change, the new bikes and the new tyres, he reckons Honda could spring a surprise. Before making his decision, Quartararo says he spoke to several manufacturers. Honda not only answered his questions but also showed him parts of the project that convinced him in the end.

The fact that Marc Marquez once left Honda for reasons similar to those that are taking him away from Yamaha is not a warning sign for Quartararo. Honda lost the best rider back then and afterwards understood what Marquez had been asking for, he says. Since then the manufacturer has worked far more aggressively and has taken a big step over the past two years. By his own account, Quartararo has never spoken to Marquez about the subject.

What does Quartararo expect from his first season with Honda?

Quartararo is not setting himself the goal of winning the first race. With a Honda, Pirelli tyres and only a handful of test days, he expects a learning phase over the opening Grands Prix.

Even if he feels very comfortable on the bike after two test days, he will have to keep learning in the first races. If he feels ready to fight for podiums or wins, he will try. Skipping stages, however, he considers unrealistic. Just because he is moving to Honda, the bike will not suddenly be the best in the field. His plan comes down to a few words: “Step by step, but quickly.”

Why is the relationship between Quartararo and Yamaha tense?

Quartararo puts the tension down to the long spell without any prospect of front-running results. After the 2021 world title and the 2022 title fight came 2023, 2024 and 2025, three years in which he was not racing where he wanted to be.

2026 brought no turnaround either. The first test of the year in Barcelona still surprised him positively, he says. After that, though, no overall step forward was made. With a new bike there is plenty to fine-tune, yet the M1 has improved neither in top speed nor in turning, grip or power. He does not want to offer a precise diagnosis himself. The engineers at Yamaha could answer that better.

Has Quartararo lost his hunger after years without a win?

No, by his own account his will to win is undiminished. Quartararo celebrated his last victory at the 2021 British Grand Prix, yet he says he feels the same ambition as ever.

To describe it, he put his hand on his chest and reached for an image: “It’s like a dog that hasn’t eaten for three days. When it has food in front of it, you’ll see how it goes for it. Right now, I’m that dog.” As soon as he gets a real chance at a win or a fight at the front, he will take it. As evidence he points to Silverstone last year, when the circumstances allowed a fight for victory and he was in the mix.

What does Valentino Rossi say about Nicolo Bulega’s move to VR46?

Rossi is pleased about Bulega’s return and says he is proud of it. For the nine-time world champion a circle closes, because Bulega began his career in his junior academy.

Bulega moves from the Superbike World Championship to MotoGP full time in 2027 and will ride a Ducati for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team. His team-mate will be Fermin Aldeguer, who joins from Gresini. Speaking to the official MotoGP broadcast in Misano, Rossi said: “It’s a good story because Nicolo started with us in the academy. At the beginning of his career, we helped him a lot.”

Expectations of Bulega were high back then. Rossi speaks openly about the fact that he may not have been ready yet, or was unlucky, and that their paths separated as a result. Bulega made his Grand Prix debut in 2016 with VR46 in Moto3 and took two podiums there. In three years in Moto2 he did not reach the podium. He then left the VR46 Academy and switched to the Supersport World Championship in 2022, where he won the title in 2023. In the Superbike World Championship he twice finished runner-up on a Ducati. Rossi emphasises that Bulega found himself again there. Because he already knows the tyres and the new bike as a test rider, things could get interesting.

How are other MotoGP riders reacting to Bulega’s step up?

The reactions in the paddock are consistently positive. Several riders consider the timing of the move fitting because of the new regulations.

Toprak Razgatlioglu, a three-time Superbike world champion and Bulega’s direct rival in his first two Superbike seasons, says Bulega has the right riding style for MotoGP. He has completed many tests with the MotoGP bike on Pirelli tyres. On the timing, Razgatlioglu says: “this is the perfect time with the 850cc bikes and Pirelli”. He hopes the two will continue to duel in MotoGP as well.

Francesco Bagnaia counted Bulega among the great young talents when he entered the world championship. The first year was strong, he says, and then something broke. In the Superbike World Championship he worked on himself, and his team helped him a great deal. Quartararo also had his say. He remembers Bulega’s test in Valencia at the end of last year, when he was very quick. He thinks it is a positive that Bulega now gets to ride a full season rather than appearing only as a stand-in or test rider.

His future team-mate Aldeguer calls Bulega unbeatable in the Superbike World Championship and praises his work with the 850cc bike. He hopes Bulega will also be a good team-mate. Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is leaving VR46 at the end of the season, has known Bulega since childhood. Hard rivals became friends, and in Moto2 they even rode for the same team. He is clear in his assessment of Bulega’s departure from the Grand Prix paddock: “Honestly, he never deserved to be out of this paddock.”

Can Nicolo Bulega become Superbike world champion this weekend?

Yes, Bulega can seal the title early at the Cremona round this weekend. He leads the Superbike World Championship by 146 points and could be world champion two events before the end of the season.

His season has been exceptionally consistent so far: apart from one race, Bulega has won every round of the year. In parallel, he has spent much of 2026 testing Ducati’s 850cc bike for the 2027 MotoGP season.

That makes this weekend a link between the current season and the coming era. While the 2026 championship points are being contested in Spielberg, the 2027 season with 850cc bikes and Pirelli tyres moves ever closer, with the test on the Monday after the race, with Honda for Quartararo and with Bulega’s MotoGP entry.

Frequently Asked Questions