Who is Trackhouse Racing rider Ai Ogura? Everything you need to know from height to career stats

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Ai Ogura will make his debut in MotoGP in 2025 after winning the Moto2 Championship this season, so here is everything you need to know about him.

The Japanese rider will enter the premier class with Aprilia customer team Trackhouse Racing. Ogura will be partnered by Raul Fernandez, who is entering his second season with the team.

Starting his career in the Asia Talent Cup in 2015, Ogura is the first rider from the series to graduate to MotoGP alongside Somkiat Chantra, who won the title in 2016 and will race with LCR Honda in 2025.

The Japanese rider won the Moto2 title in 2024 in his fourth season in the category and first year with MT Helmets, having spent the previous three years with Honda Team Asia.

Ai Ogura won the Moto2 Championship in his fourth season in 2024

Ogura began his motorcycle racing career in the Asia Talent Cup in 2015. He finished seventh in his debut year in 2015 before finishing runner-up the following year to Chantra, collecting three wins and six podiums.

After competing in the Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup in 2016-2017 and the FIM CEV Moto3 Junior World Championship in 2017-2018, Ogura made four appearances in the Moto3 World Championship in 2018 with Asia Talent Team, before landing a full-time seat the following year.

Joining Honda Team Asia, Ogura endured a challenging debut campaign as he grabbed one podium with second at Aragon as he finished 10th in the standings. In 2020, the Japanese rider found an extra gear as he scored points at all but one race, grabbing seven podiums and finishing third overall.

His performances earned him a move to Moto2, staying with Honda Team Asia but this time on a Kalex bike. Finishing eighth in his debut season with one podium, Ogura challenged for the title in 2022, but his three wins and seven podiums were not enough as he lost out to Augustin Fernandez by 29.5 points.

The Japanese rider could not reach the same heights in 2023 as he went winless and grabbed just three podiums to finish ninth in the standings. In 2024, Ogura moved to MT Helmets on a Boscoscuro bike, and he achieved immediate success as he finally won the title.

Ai Ogura is the first Asia Talent Cup rider to graduate to MotoGP

Partnering with Sergio Garcia at MT Helmets, Ogura was immediately on the pace and displayed great consistency throughout the season. Missing the Austrian Grand Prix after fracturing his hand in practice and retiring from Malaysia, he scored points at every other event.

Claiming three wins and eight podiums across the year, Ogura beat Aron Canet to the title by 40 points and helped MT Helmets win the Teams’ Championship alongside Garcia, who grabbed two wins at COTA and Le Mans.

In August, Ogura was confirmed to be riding with Trackhouse Racing on a two-year contract in MotoGP, becoming the first rider from the Asia Talent Cup to graduate to the premier class. His 2016 title rival Chantra soon followed him by joining LCR Honda for next year, partnering Johann Zarco.

But who really is Ogura and what is the Trackhouse Racing rider’s life outside of the MotoGP grid truly like? With that in mind, MotoGP News takes a deep dive into everything that you need to know about Ogura…

Who is Ai Ogura?

Ai Ogura is a Japanese motorcycle rider who will race with Trackhouse Racing in MotoGP in 2025. He will make his debut in the premier class after winning the Moto2 Championship in 2024.

How old is Ai Ogura? Where was he born and what is his nationality?

At the time of writing, Ogura is 24 years old and he was born on 26 January 2001.

Ogura was born in Kiyose, which sits in the western outskirts of the Japanese capital, Tokyo. He is currently the only Japanese rider on the grid.

How tall is Ai Ogura and how much does he weigh?

Ai Ogura is one of the shortest MotoGP riders at 1.69m (5ft 5in), matching only Marc Marquez in height. Two riders are shorter than the pair, including Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin, who are both 1.68m.

The Japanese rider is the lightest on the grid, weighing 60kg (9st 6lbs), with the next closest rider being Fabio Di Giannantonio, who weighs 62kg.

How good is Ai Ogura? What’s been said about him?

Ogura has already received praise from his Trackhouse Racing team boss Davide Brivio, who was impressed with the qualities the Japanese rider displayed during his title-winning Moto2 season.

He noted: “We are very excited, we are looking forward to getting him into the team.

“We have followed his season and it has been great. We like his attitude – he never gives up, and he tries to push.

“We are happy, he did a good job this season. He had an injury but didn’t give up in the difficult moments. We hope that we will be able to keep his career going up.”

What is Ai Ogura’s race number?

Ogura races with the number 79, which he has carried with him since his Moto2 and Moto3 days. The Japanese rider started his career racing with the number 7 before being assigned the number 9 when he joined the Asia Talent Cup.

When joining the world championship in 2018, he opted to combine his numbers to create his 79 plaque.

Ai Ogura’s career MotoGP stats

Ogura began his career in the Asia Talent Cup in 2015. Since then, he has grabbed numerous race wins and podiums, including the Moto2 Championship in 2024.