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Ai Ogura picked up the baton from Nakagami as Japan's representative in the MotoGP. Unlike Taka, however, the reigning Moto2 world champion will be racing on an Italian bike and not on a Japanese one. In fact, he's chosen the Trackhouse team's Aprilia (that unveiled its new livery for 2025 today) for his debut in the premier class. Ai appears very calm facing this new challenge and seems to want to speak with facts rather than make pretentious comments.
In Barcelona, in November, he had his first chance to test the RS-GP and, in two weeks, he'll be back on the bike for the Sepang tests. The MotoGP is very different than the Moto2, and the tires make a big difference.
"The first thing is always to understand the tires, no matter what class you ride in because, in the end, they're the ones that connect you to the ground," he said, smiling. "For now, I was only able to test the Michelins for one day, and I still have a lot to figure out. I'll have eight test days before the start of the championship, and I want to learn as much as I can."
Have you changed your training over the winter?
"In the Barcelona test, at most, I did 10.12 laps, and it went well, But I know that Malaysia and Thailand will be a different story. We'll have to deal with the heat. For now, I don't have any problems, and I haven't made any changes to my training. This winter, I rode my bike ninety percent. We'll see how it goes. If I have to, I'll work on my body. I'll figure it out after the Sepang tests."
You'll be going up against Aldeguer and Chantra for Rookie of the Year.
"It's always good to have other rookies, to have measures of comaprison. In Barcelona, Fermin seemed already at ease on the MotoGP, while Somkiat and I still have to adapt. That said, I think we're more or less at the same level, and I hope we'll all do well."
Your teammate is Fernandez. Martin and Bezzecchi are on the factory team. How will they be able to help you?
"I'm in a position to learn from them. It's great to have Martin, the world champion, Bezzecchi, who's a winner, and Raul, who has great potential. It's really nice that these three riders are on the same bike as me, and I'll try to learn the most from them."
Are you ready for the Sprint?
"This format is something special for me. Basically, starting Friday, it's like I'm always in qualifying. Maybe, as a rookie, it'll take more time to adapt, but that's how it is."
