We've only completed six races in what appears to be an incredible season, and Ai Ogura is proving to be a formidable competitor.
We've just kicked off with a few out of over 40 races in the 2025 MotoGP season, yet things seem promising for what could turn out to be an outstanding year. Not too long ago, many likely didn’t expect to see much of Alex Márquez standing on the podium. However, his brother was always considered a regular contender, naturally.
However, at present, as I pen this down, Alex is leading the ongoing MotoGP World Championship rankings. Marc is closely following him, and They will probably switch places at the top of the leader board. If circumstances remain unchanged as they have been. And honestly, would you have anticipated this a few years back?
It’s not really shocking that the leading five racers in the current championship standings ride Ducati models, considering the high number of various Ducatis present on the track. Additionally, one should consider who exactly is behind the handlebars of these motorcycles.
As you might or might not be aware, however, the leading non-Ducati rider in the championship right now is a Trackhouse Aprilia rider (not even a Ducati). factory The Aprilia rider; much like it's a satellite Ducati currently positioned at the pinnacle).
Chances are excellent that Ai Ogura Would have been even more elevated in the rankings if he hadn't been barred because of a software problem at COTA, but possibilities of what could have and should have happened aren’t the actualities we face.
To listen to what Ogura's Trackhouse Aprilia crew chief has to say, Giovanni Mattarollo, tell it, He's extremely diligent. Reserved, yet you can almost visualize the cogs spinning in his mind as he absorbs fresh data and applies it on the racetrack. (By the way, that link leads to a video; typically, we would usually include it directly, however embedding videos seems to be forbidden in Dorna-world. Do check it out if you haven’t seen it before.)
Part of what brought him here was, Ogura mentioned recently stated in an interview with CNN is due to the fact that his initial racing hero and role model wasn’t a distant MotoGP star, which you might assume. Although Ogura undoubtedly looked up to legends such as Valentino Rossi, he mentions that the biggest source of inspiration and education during the start of his racing career was actually... his older sister!
Similar to many top MotoGP racers today, Ogura began his career very early, with significant support from his family. This level of involvement is almost necessary because motorcycle racing, long before reaching GP standards, doesn’t allow for sporadic training sessions followed by sudden national competitions done under wraps. It’s more like a plot suited for a Disney Channel film than how professional motorcycling actually operates.
If you have never laid eyes on pictures of a youthful Ogura from the early days, let me provide some inspiration for the upcoming generations with these images.
I don’t believe I’m exaggerating when I mention that I see significant potential emerging within the current season of the series. While it’s still early in the 2025 MotoGP championship, those familiar with recent decades of championships understand how crucial each point can be. Typically, newcomers rarely perform so impressively at such an initial stage in their professional journey.
We're seeing something extraordinary happening right before us, and I believe we should pause to recognize this moment. Personally, I am eagerly anticipating what the future has in store for such an exceptional talent.
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