Twenty-three-year-old Ai Ogura signed up to the toughest job in MotoGP™ last week – to become the first Japanese rider to win the premier class World Championship. Despite all their enormous success in the Constructors premier class Championship, plenty of World titles and Grands Prix wins in the smaller classes, the highest accolade in the sport still awaits a Japanese rider after 75 years.
Just three days after the Trackhouse team announced that Ogura was joining their MotoGP™ team next year, he crashed and broke his right hand during Saturday morning practice at the Red Bull Ring. The five-time Moto2™ winner has won twice this season and still holds second place in the Moto2™ World Championship despite missing Austria.
It’s a tough road ahead for Ogura who won three Moto2™ races in 2022 and finished second in the World Championship, before an injury-hit 2023 season. He steps up to a MotoGP™ World Championship that last witnessed a Japanese winner two decades ago when Makoto Tamada scored a home victory for Honda at Motegi in 2004. Earlier that season Tamada also won in Rio and finished sixth in the Championship. The last Japanese rider to finish on the MotoGP™ podium was Katsuyuki Nakasuga who brought Yamaha second place at Valencia in 2012. Takaaki Nakagami, who finished 14th in Austria on Sunday, was the last Japanese pole setter at Aragon in 2020
The closest a Japanese rider came to that elusive title came in 1997. Tadayuki Okada came along at just the wrong time, right in the middle of the Doohan domination years. He finished second in the 1997 500cc World Championship behind his Repsol Honda team-mate Doohan. Two years later Okada finished third behind Alex Criville and Kenny Roberts Junior. He finished on the 500cc podium 21 times including four Grands Prix wins. In another era that would have been enough for the World title.
Nobody will ever forget Norick Abe. With that long hair flowing from the back of his helmet, he won three 500cc Grands Prix for Yamaha. The two at Suzuka in 1996 and 2000 were so special, with that massive smile and celebrations on the podium in front of the home fans. One of the most underrated Japanese 500cc grand prix riders was Toru Ukawa. I remember him fighting off Honda team-mate World Champion Valentino Rossi to win the 2002 Grand Prix at Welkom in South Africa. He finished third in the Championship that year, but it was his only 500cc victory.
Without a doubt Japan and Honda had earmarked the brilliant Daijiro Kato to bring that World title home. He won 11 Grands Prix en route to the 2001 250cc World title. He took two podium finishes on both two-stroke and four-stroke Hondas on his debut MotoGP™ season, eventually finishing seventh in the 2002 Championship. The stage was set for the big push in 2003, but it ended in tragedy. Kato was killed at the opening round at Suzuka. The dream died that dreadful afternoon and all we can do is imagine what those battles between Valentino Rossi and Kato would have produced. One thing for certain, Kato would have been right up there with all those MotoGP™ stars.
So, a massive two years ahead for the latest Japanese star to emerge from the smaller classes. In those last 75 years it’s been rare for a Japanese rider to compete in the Premier class on European machinery. It’s Aprilia for Ogura and he can take an optimistic glance at history. The first Japanese rider to both start and score points in the 500cc class was Fumio Itoh. He finished sixth at the 1960 French Grand Prix at Clermont-Ferrand riding a BMW. A good omen for the 23-year-old as he embarks on his journey to re-write the history books.
