Trackhouse Racing boss Davide Brivio heaped praise on Ai Ogura after the Japanese star claimed the Moto2 championship.
Trackhouse officially announced Ogura earlier in the season for 2025 on a two-year contract. It opted to replace Pramac bound Miguel Oliveira with an upcoming rider from the intermediate class.
Ogura had just sealed the Moto2 championship in Thailand a few weeks earlier, but Brivio revealed he is impressed with his “qualities” that align with the American team’s ethos.
“We are very excited, we are looking forward to getting him into the team,” Brivio said.
“We have followed his season and it has been great.
“We like his attitude – he never gives up, and he tries to push.
“The race [in Thailand last weekend] was a big demonstration of what he is. “He dropped back a few positions, but he didn’t give up, he tried to recover, and although fifth position was enough, he tried hard to win the race. I really liked it.
“In the last laps when it started to rain, he was so aggressive.
“He never gave up but was intelligent enough to stop when it rained, when it was too risky.
“This race was a good summary of his qualities.
“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.”
Davide Brivio reveals Ai Ogura’s dedication to winning Moto2 after signing
Brivio revealed that Ogura and the team haven’t communicated frequently since the announcement was made in August.
However, he remained unfazed by this, attributing it to Ogura’s commitment to finishing the Moto2 season as strongly as possible with the riders intention to begin his MotoGP career as the reigning champion.
“Honestly, since we signed the contract and we agreed, we haven’t had so much contact,” Brivio said.
“We wanted him to focus on the Moto2 championship which, for Ai, was important.
“In the middle of the season he said ‘I have to win, no matter what’.
“We wanted him to focus on his main job. Now, we will have time to talk more deeply.
“This is another quality, again. He was focused and concentrated on what he has to do.
“He wasn’t distracted by going to MotoGP.”
Fermin Aldegeur will join Ogura in MotoGP next season, with the Spaniard set to ride for Gresini Racing aboard a GP24 Ducati. His promotion was announced at the start of the season before the Bologna brand later confirming the team after the manufacturer parted ways with Pramac.
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