MotoGP, Justin Marks: "Ogura, the Moto2 world champion, is the best rookie."

While the 2025 MotoGP season so far has spoken the language of Ducati, with a super-competitive Marc Marquez despite the mistake in Austin, Alex Marquez the new points leader thanks to his consistency, and Pecco Bagnaia ready to take up the challenge, some of the most obvious surprises can be found further back in the standings. In fact, while the first five positions are dominated by Ducatis, the first of the chasers in the standings is rookie Ai Ogura riding the Aprilia.

Justifiably satisfied therefore is Trackhouse CEO Justin Marks, who sang the praises of the young Ogura's feats to MotoGP.com:

"The transition from Moto2 to MotoGP is really big," Marks declared, "the bikes have so much power, the aerodynamics, and the level of competition, a little bit of experience - it's a huge step, so you never know how a rookie will perform."

The choice of rider therefore fell on Ogura: "What better rookie to put on the bike than the Moto2 World Champion? That's why we signed him, he is an incredible talent and a mature and intelligent rider. We signed him with the expectation of having a great rider who can compete for points every time we get on the track, and eventually try to finish on the podium. His debut in Thailand was spectacular, probably better than we expected, but it also reminded us that we made a great choice in terms of the rider we put on the bike, so we are excited about his future."

With his 25 points tied with Zarco (which would have been 33 had it not been for the disqualification he received in Argentina), the Japanese rider is sixth in the championship standings. He is not only establishing himself as the best of the rookies (Aldeguer is only 3 points behind) but also as one of the revelations of the season, for Aprilia as well as for his rivals. In Thailand Ogura started with fireworks, finishing 4th in the sprint and 5th in the race, one of the best debuts in recent years. Despite the disqualification in Argentina (where he finished 8th), Ogura then repeated the feat in Austin by achieving two more top ten finishes after starting 18th, managing in the sprint to finish 9th and best Aprilia.

About his Texas weekend, however, the Japanese rider, as usual, did not let himself become too enthusiastic.
"Ninth place in the Sprint and ninth in the main race were good results, I think, after a difficult weekend," explained Ogura in the aftermath of the race. "In the Sprint I had a chance to fight for positions on my own, I fought with Bezzecchi and Binder, it was a good chance to learn and I also had fun. In the main race, however, there were five or six crashes ahead of me, so I couldn't do much on my part. Overall, my team and I can be satisfied with this weekend."

So Ogura's results are encouraging, not only for the Trackhouse team but also for Aprilia and Jorge Martin, who will find a competitive bike on his possible return in Qatar. As for the Japanese rider's season, it is clear that his main battle will be with the other rookies, although for the moment Aldeguer and Chantra still seem to be some way behind.