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Aprilia opens up to Japan, or rather Trackhouse has done so by choosing Ai Ogura. This is not the first time a rider from the Rising Sun has raced on a Noale motorcycle in the premier class: Harada did it on the 2-cylinder 500, Haga on the RS-Cube. That's the past, while the future has the face of Ogura, able to overcome competition from Roberts to join the star-spangled banner team. How did he do it? Team Principal Davide Brivio explains.
How difficult was it to choose the rider?
"It always is. First of all we had to decide whether to continue with Oliveira or not and that was the most complicated part because we had nothing to complain about him. When we decided for a change, we thought we would take a new path, take a young talent and start a new project. A talent like Ai is."
Trackhouse is an American team, why not an American rider like Joe Roberts?
"We always said it would be good for us to have an American rider and Joe was on our list. Then we did some further evaluations more from the sporting point of view, from the results, whether they were right I will tell you in a couple of years (laughs). We think we made the right choice, regardless of passport."
Why?
"It was our judgment, no one can know whether it was right or wrong, we will find out later. Of course we appreciate what Ai is doing, he is winning races and I feel he has resilience. We think his style can evolve to suit MotoGP, we are hopeful."
Isn't targeting an experienced rider like Miller, part of the team's philosophy?
"We are a junior team - in the sense that we are just born (laughs). We are a young project, we have to understand MotoGP, what our ambitions are for the future. We will have Raul, who is young but experienced, and Ai who will be a rookie, but also the team still needs to gain experience, grow and find its place in the championship."
Did Aprilia intervene in the choice?
"We always talk to them, they knew, but it was more our choice. Massimo (Rivola ed.) would also have been happy to keep Miguel, as he was with the renewal of Raul. It was kind of a dilemma, because the factory team will change both riders, and on the one hand, it would have been a good choice to keep two riders who already know the bike in our team. Aprilia would have preferred more stability, but we talked to them and made them aware of our decision."
Were you surprised that Ogura did not switch to MotoGP with Honda?
"We thought he was a good choice for us, so we got in touch with him and asked him if he was interested. We kept talking to him and reached an agreement."
Did you also talk to Roberts?
"Yes, also with John Hopkins. As I said, it would have been nice, but we thought about the project in general. When you make a decision, you have to give up something to gain something else."
Dorna would have liked to have had an American....
"Everyone knew that, but that was our decision. However, they can also be happy with a rider who came to MotoGP starting from the Asian Talent Cup, so it's still good for the championship. Dorna didn't put any pressure on us for Roberts anyway."
What do you expect from Ogura?
"It's never easy to have a rookie, because we should spend a year without expectations, letting him have fun, gain experience, trying to pick up some indications. As an independent team, such a choice also carries risks because, if it goes well, maybe someone in 2027 will try to steal Ai from us. Ours is a medium-term program, so we want to convince Raul and Ogura to stay with us as long as possible, but it's a big challenge."
The Japanese have a very different culture from the Europeans, does that worry you?
"I think I'm trained with the Japanese (laughs). To tell you the truth, I don't think we will have communication problems with him. I've worked a lot with the Japanese and I'm not worried."
A rumor claims that BMW are reported to be interested in buying Suzuki's data for MotoGP, do you think this is a possible deal knowing the Japanese well?
"I have no information, I can only give my personal opinion. It is hard to believe that it could happen because Suzuki retired 3 years ago and if you want to use that data for 2027 it would be a long time ago. Also I think BMW has enough knowledge and pride to develop a bike on their own, in SBK they did it."
