Written by Claire Franceries, Edited by Sean McKean
The 2025 MotoGP grid will see several changes heading into the new season. These include rookies stepping up from the Moto2 feeder series, including the reigning champion Ai Ogura, who will be riding a Trackhouse MotoGP bike in his rookie MotoGP season.
The 2024 Moto2 champion, Ai Ogura was born in 2001 in Saitama, Japan, and his passion for motorcycles started fairly early. In 2009, he was already competing with pocket bikes in national championships before entering the Asia Talent Cup in 2015.
He started his road to MotoGP in 2016 by competing in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup—alongside future MotoGP teammate, Raúl Fernández.
It was during 2018 that Ogura started racing in the Moto3 World Championship as a wildcard in multiple Grands-Prix. In 2019, Honda Team Asia promoted him as one of their main riders in Moto3 alongside fellow Japanese rider Kaito Toba.
By February 2024, Ai Ogura entered his fourth Moto2 season with his new team: MT Helmets - MSi. After losing the title in 2022 by 29.5 points to Augusto Fernández, the 23-year-old Japanese rider was more than ready to win the 2024 Moto2 season.
He started the season in Qatar with a fourth-placed result, just behind his teammate Sergio Garcia. His first podium of the year was in France, where he arrived second, behind Garcia once again.
During the 2024 season, Ogura clinched eight podiums — one third, four seconds and three wins—one of those being a very emotional silver medal in his home race in Japan.
With only one retirement in Aragon and one withdrawal in Austria—due to a heavy fall in second practice — Ogura scored points in 18 races out of the 20 in the championship.
Meanwhile, his main rival, Arón Canet, had a DNS (Did Not Start) in Jerez, finished out of points in Japan, and had to retire his bike four times during the season. Consistency and the importance of scoring points were the keys to the 2024 Moto2 championship.
Ogura snatched the title in Thailand, finishing second in that race just behind Canet. The Japanese rider ended the season with 274 points and a fourth-place run during the Barcelona Solidarity Grand Prix.
It was the 15th of August, 2024, during the Austrian Grand Prix media day, that Ogura's move to Trackhouse MotoGP Team was announced.
He joined Raúl Fernández and completed their lineup, replacing the Portuguese rider, Miguel Oliveira, who is set to depart to Yamaha Prima Pramac for the 2025 season.
Ogura made his MotoGP debut during the Barcelona test in mid-November. His new team, Trackhouse Aprilia, made him feel right at home from the get-go: “Communication with the whole team was excellent, a real relief.”
He completed 86 laps during the seven hours of testing and finished 21 out of 24, just behind fellow rookie, Fermín Aldeguer.
Even with a crash in Turn 2, it was an impressive first test for Ogura. The young rider was mostly happy with himself, but he acknowledged the difference of physical force required between riding a Moto2 bike and a MotoGP one:
“I feel good after the day, but I only did ten laps in a row. I'm going to have to train a lot more this winter.”
Ogura will be back on a MotoGP bike, with the rest of the grid, during the Sepang pre-season test scheduled at the start of February 2025. The new Trackhouse rider possesses all the keys to make his transition from Moto2 to MotoGP go smoothly.
With the help of his team, his experience in Moto2 and ability to ride with little to no grip, he may follow in Pedro Acosta’s footsteps and have a promising rookie season.
With Takaaki Nakagami’s retirement as a full-time MotoGP rider, Ai Ogura will be the sole Japanese on the grid in 2025.
Between its many brands selling bikes — Yamaha, Honda, Suzuki — and its famous nation’s riders, Japan is one of the largest motorcycle countries in the world.
The legacy of riders like Daijiro Kato, Tadayuki Okada, and Norifumi Abe will now fall onto Ogura’s shoulders, who has already proved that, like his predecessors, he will embody the famous Japanese proverb: “Fall down seven times, stand up eight (七転び八起き).”
Ogura's resilience, combined with his experience and his team support, positions him as a promising contender for 2025 MotoGP Rookie of the Year.
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