Ai Ogura's rookie season round-up
- Silvia Cojocaru
- 5 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Written by Silvia Cojocaru, Edited by Dhara Dave
As one of three debutants on the 2025 grid, Ai Ogura impressed on the Aprilia bike, earning a spot with the Trackhouse team for another year.
Today, we are taking a look at the mixed rookie season of the Moto2 Champion and why his career might be worth following in the future.
An eye-catching debut
Being a rookie in any category can be tough, but especially in MotoGP, the expectations to impress from the start are incredibly high and often impossible to achieve. Most young riders dream of receiving a place on the grid, and Ogura was no different, stating: "My goal was to become a GP Rider. I had been watching since I was little. It wasn’t a sense of it being a job, but I had decided, ‘I will become this.’ Before I knew it, that’s what I had become."
One thing is certain: once anyone gets this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, they have very little time to prove they are deserving of a seat. Many debutants may struggle to find their footing right away, but Ogura wasn’t one of them.
The 2024 Moto2 champion turned heads after his first-ever weekend in the premier class. In Thailand, he finished fourth in the Sprint and fifth in the main race, clearly showing his potential, especially among some of the best riders of our time.
The rookie even impressed in his first qualifying session after making it directly into Q2 and managing to earn the fifth spot on the grid. In contrast, fellow debutant Fermín Aldeguer started from 15th on the grid and only made up two places in the race.
The second race in Argentina was equally impressive, as the Japanese rider fought his way to eighth place after starting from 15th on the grid.
Unfortunately, Ogura was disqualified from the race following the use of non-approved software, losing important points in the championship.
Although his performances failed to live up to the high expectations put in place by his debut race, the rookie enjoyed a consistent run from the USA to France. He finished in the top ten in three out of four races, with the only outlier being a 15th place in Qatar.
Injury struggles
The British Grand Prix represented a turning point in his season. The Japanese rider was involved in a crash that left him with a fractured tibia, and he needed to undergo surgery. This stagnated his momentum gained at the start of the season, as he missed the following race in Aragon.
He returned at the Italian Grand Prix, claiming an already familiar 10th place, but his performance began to dip in the following races.
The rookie did not see the chequered flag in the following two races in the Netherlands and Germany, and he finished outside of the top 10 for another three consecutive races. His form seemed to return at the Catalonian Grand Prix, where he finished sixth, but his momentum took another hit at the following race in San Marino.
Ogura suffered another injury, this time bruising the bone of his right hand and the soft tissue in his foot. He was again forced to sit out several races, including his home Grand Prix in Japan.
After his second return in Australia, Ogura couldn’t match his best result of sixth and even struggled to return to the top 10.
Overall, Ogura only managed to start in 18 out of the total 22 races of the season and found himself in the top ten six times this year, a respectable result considering the several injuries that made it harder for him to grow and improve consistently.
These mixed results took a toll on the Japanese rider as well, stating at the end of the season: “During this season, at one point, I think maybe I'm not [good] enough, but then I started to ride the bike OK.
“After the injury, especially in the tough moments, [I had doubts]. But the last two races, I had quite OK races. So, I still see the future. It's OK.”
Future potential
The rookie showed numerous sparks of talent, and next year might be even more crucial for the young rider. Especially now that he has the time to get familiar with the bike, and his teammate, Raúl Fernández, proved that Trackhouse is a team capable of winning races and fighting for podiums.
Will Ogura be able to prove that his opening race was not just an outlier in his season, and can he overcome his unfortunate luck with injuries?
Tune in to the opening race in Thailand on 1st March at 8.00 BST to see if Ogura will be able to bring Trackhouse to the top!
