There are a number of schools of thought when it comes to attacking the track. Among the most popular is the idea that you should always be pushing the limits if you want to improve and that sometimes, that means you'll crash a lot until you find out how far is too far.
We've seen plenty of professional racers like this over the years. There's a reason that Cal Crutchlow had the nickname "Crashlow" in certain circles. But another meaningful theory is that of consistency. And if you have a rider who not only has a track record of finishing races, but who also tends to make significant headway climbing up through the pack no matter where they qualify, you're going to want to look at having them join your team.
Especially if they're currently sitting in second in the 2024 Moto2 rider championship points standings.
I'm talking, of course, about Ai Ogura, who Trackhouse Aprilia MotoGP has just signed for the 2025 and 2026 seasons. He'll be partnering with Raul Fernandez, and stepping into the place that will be vacated by Miguel Oliveira.
If you haven't been watching the 2024 Moto2 season, there's still time to tune in. At the time of writing, we're heading right into the MotoGP Austria weekend, so there's in fact no better time than the present.
Right now, though, I'm going to talk to you about what anyone watching the season so far has seen with Ogura, and that's a consistent, exciting racer.
He knows how to finish races, and in most cases, he knows how to end up in a significantly better position than he may necessarily have qualified in. He makes passes look easy, just leapfrogging his way up through the field and making smart decisions on when and where to get around whoever's currently in front of him. If you enjoy watching overtakes, he's absolutely one to keep an eye on this season.
To demonstrate, I've put together a handy table illustrating where he qualified in every Moto2 race so far in 2024, as well as where he finished. He's won two races, but I'll be the complete opposite of surprised to see him win more in the remaining race weekends on the 2024 calendar.
| 2024 Moto2 Race Weekend | Where Ogura Qualified | Where Ogura Finished |
| Qatar | 13th | 4th |
| Portugal | 7th | 5th |
| Americas | 17th | 7th |
| Spain | 17th | 6th |
| France | 17th | 2nd |
| Catalunya | 10th | Won |
| Italy | 12th | 5th |
| Assen | 2nd | Won |
| Germany | 7th | 3rd |
| Britain | 1st | 14th |
Granted, things seem to have bucked the trend at the British GP, with Ogura qualifying in first and ending the race in 14th. But in all nine of the preceding races, he consistently climbed through the ranks to finish in a better (and sometimes much better) position than he started.
He's shown a keen understanding of racing, of his bike, and of his competitors, and he's made solid decisions to get him to where he's currently sitting in the championship. Oh, and he's only 23, so there's time and room to grow with Trackhouse Aprilia, if the partnership works out.
If you're new to the Ai Ogura train, there are still 10 more races in the season, including Austria this weekend. Check in to see tomorrow's Aprilia hero (at least, so Trackhouse is hoping) today.
