Ai Ogura’s rise through the MotoGP field has been one of the stories of the season, but Trackhouse Racing team principal Davide Brivio believes the Japanese rider still has one important lesson to learn before he can become a genuine championship contender.
Ogura currently sits third in the standings, just 37 points behind championship leader Jorge Martin with 10 rounds remaining. His consistent results have allowed him to challenge established factory riders, including Martin and Marco Bezzecchi.
However, his recent weekend at the British Grand Prix showed that there is still room for improvement.
After qualifying on the front row, Ogura slid off during the race and lost valuable championship points. The mistake also allowed Bezzecchi to move ahead of him in the standings.
For Brivio, the incident highlighted an area Ogura must continue to develop: knowing exactly when to stop managing his tyres and start pushing aggressively.
Ogura admitted after the British GP that he may have been too cautious during the early stages of the race as he focused on preserving his tyres.
Brivio has identified tyre management as one of Ogura’s major strengths. The Trackhouse rider is often able to save his tyres effectively and produce strong pace towards the end of races, regularly showing top-four speed in the closing laps.
The challenge now is to bring some of that aggression earlier in the race without sacrificing his performance in the final stages.
“Sometimes he waits a little too long before attacking,” Brivio explained, highlighting the importance of finding the right moment to change from conservation mode to full attack.
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Ogura has already shown that he is capable of making major improvements.
Qualifying was considered one of his biggest weaknesses at the start of the season. Despite having strong race pace, poor grid positions often left him with too much ground to recover.
That began to change around the Czech Grand Prix in June, when Ogura made significant progress with his one-lap speed. He followed that breakthrough by securing his maiden MotoGP victory at Assen the following week.
Since then, front-row starts have become increasingly common, showing how quickly the Japanese rider has adapted to the demands of the premier class.
Brivio believes the same learning process can help Ogura improve his race strategy.
Rather than viewing his tyre management as a weakness, the Trackhouse boss sees it as a strength that simply needs to be refined. Ogura is still learning how to get the most from his MotoGP machine, and Brivio expects that development to continue throughout his career.
With 10 rounds still remaining, Ogura remains firmly in the championship fight. If he can combine his impressive tyre management with a more aggressive approach at the right moments, he could take another major step towards establishing himself as a serious MotoGP title contender.
For now, the task is simple: learn when to wait, learn when to attack, and make every opportunity count.
