Ai Ogura

Ai Ogura moves up to MotoGP in 2025 as the reigning Moto2 world champion, riding for Trackhouse Aprilia.

Ai Ogura - Route to MotoGP

Ogura spent three years in Moto3 with Honda Team Asia, where he took eight podiums but missed out on a race victory.

Promoted to Moto2 by the Honda-backed team in 2021, Ogura quickly adapted to the larger machinery and celebrated a podium in Austria.

The Japanese star's rapid rise saw him fight for the title with three race wins in 2022, only to lose out to Augusto Fernandez.

Tipped as the 2023 favourite, Ogura's final year with Honda Team Asia was wrecked by a wrist injury in pre-season testing.

Ogura's switch away from Honda Team Asia and Kalex had raised eyebows but his decision to join the new MT Helmets-MSI (ex-Pons) squad on a Boscoscuro chassis for the first year of Pirelli tyres proved inspired.

Although it took Ogura until round four to stand on the podium, and he only won three races, his eight podiums were more than enough to wrap up the title early in a season where all riders struggled for consistency.

Ogura also proved that leaving Honda hadn't harmed his MotoGP prospects when he was chosen by Trackhouse Aprilia team director and renowned talent spotter Davide Brivio to join the satellite RS-GP team for 2025.