Ai Ogura and His Major Rejection of Honda: The Story Behind It, Explained by the Future Yamaha Rider

The Japanese rider explains why he turned down a move to Honda three years ago: his future lies with historic rivals Yamaha.

There is no doubt that Ai Ogura deserves a place in MotoGP. His results in 2026 have shown that he has reached an excellent level after an up-and-down rookie season in 2025, which also included injuries. This year, too, he has had to contend with a physical issue, which was a real shame, as it ruled him out of the battle for the world title.

Missing the Grands Prix at Aragon and Misano put an end to his hopes, although that does not mean he cannot finish the season with a strong result in the final standings. He is currently fourth, and staying there through the end of the season would be a great achievement for the SuperFile Trackhouse rider.

The 25-year-old Japanese rider wants to finish 2026 on a high note and give his current team the best possible send-off before moving to the Yamaha MotoGP factory team, where he will partner Jorge Martin. Aprilia had hoped he would stay with Trackhouse, but the offer from the Iwata-based manufacturer persuaded Ogura to make a change for 2027.

Honda's offer in 2023, however, failed to convince him. At the time, the rider was competing in the Moto2 World Championship and chose to stay there, despite the opportunity to step up to MotoGP with Lucio Cecchinello's LCR team. He had come up through the Honda ranks, starting in the Asia Talent Cup before racing for Honda Team Asia in Moto3 and Moto2. Moving up to the premier class with the Tokyo-based manufacturer seemed like a natural next step.

Speaking to Crash.net, Ogura explained why he chose to turn down HRC's offer: "I turned down Honda's offer because I wasn't ready for MotoGP. I also wanted to win a title before moving up to MotoGP. There were two main reasons. I simply made the decision I thought was best in that particular situation".

In 2024, he did make a change, joining the MT Helmets-MSi team and riding a Boscoscuro bike. It proved to be the right choice: he fulfilled his dream of becoming Moto2 world champion and secured a MotoGP contract for 2025. He chose to wait, win the title and arrive in the premier class better prepared for such a demanding challenge. So far, it is hard to say he took the wrong path. We will see whether signing with Yamaha for 2027 also proves to be the right decision. With new technical regulations and new tyres (Pirelli), next year is a huge question mark for everyone.

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