Japan’s rising star: Ogura joins illustrious list with MotoGP™ leap

In 2025, Japan will have a new MotoGP™ hero to cheer on as Moto2™ title contender Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) gets set to join Raul Fernandez at Trackhouse Racing.

Ogura – when this piece was written prior to the 2024 Austrian GP – is a five-time Grand Prix winner in Moto2™ and becomes the latest Japanese rider to boast at least one Grand Prix win and be a modern-era MotoGP™ rider. Europe has hogged the recent success in the premier class, but Ogura’s arrival is a timely reminder that Japan has an incredibly rich history in MotoGP™ - and not just on the manufacturer front.

13 Japanese stars – 14 when Ogura lands next season – have raced in MotoGP™ having won a GP before, with the latest being Tetsuta Nagashima after the 2020 Qatar GP Moto2™ winner replaced Japan’s current premier class hero, Takaaki Nakagami, at IDEMITSU Honda LCR for the final four races of the 2022 campaign. Nakagami himself won two intermediate class races before making the jump up to the premier class, and the #30 has been the only full-time Japanese rider on the grid since 2018.

Out of those previous 13 riders, two have managed to clinch MotoGP™ victories - Makoto Tamada and Tohru Ukawa. Tamada picked up his two wins in 2004 riding Honda's RC211V in Brazil and Japan, while Ukawa won the second-ever MotoGP™ race in 2002 at the South African GP on his way to finishing P3 in the overall standings riding for Repsol Honda.

Ogura's promotion provides a new chance for Japan to celebrate a MotoGP™ victory - something the nation hasn't been able to do since Tamada's home GP win in 2004.

A victory won't be expected of Ogura in 2025. However, the 23-year-old has proved in Moto3™ and in Moto2™ that he's got what it takes to challenge for 25-point hauls and Championship titles. P3 in 2020 (Moto3™) and P2 in 2022 (Moto2™) have been Ogura's highlight campaigns so far, but that coveted debut World Championship title is within reach in 2024 after an injury-hit 2023 season.

It's safe to say that Trackhouse have signed Japan's rising star. Now the American-based outfit and Ogura will aim to demonstrate to everyone what they're capable of.

Below is the full list of Japanese riders to win a Grand Prix race across every class in the modern era*:

Tetsuya Harada 
Daijiro Kato 
Youichi Ui 
Hiroshi Aoyama 
Shinya Nakano 
Tadayuki Okada 
Tohru Ukawa 
Ai Ogura 
Norick Abe 
Yuki Takahashi 
Makoto Tamada 
Takaaki Nakagami 
Nobuatsu Aoki 
Tetsuta Nagashima 

*Pre 2024 Austrian GP