Ogura show at the Sachsenring: double podium and 2nd in the standings, now a genuine title contender

Ai Ogura comes off a great German GP and is now 2nd in the overall standings. He’s now a solid contender for the MotoGP title fight.

"I think we’re a top-6 team." Ai Ogura, once again fresh from a double podium, this time at the Sachsenring, said so on Thursday in the press conference. The broad satisfied smile after the German GP tells us instead that the Trackhouse Aprilia rider surprised himself. "Second here behind Marquez... I did my best!" was his comment. But we’ve already seen what the best representative of the Land of the Rising Sun currently in MotoGP is capable of... And we can no longer consider him an outsider—certainly not from today—but after this round he confirms even more that he’s a formidable and concrete protagonist of the 2026 season.

"Pressure? I’d feel it even if I were last." We know Ai Ogura is not someone who exaggerates in his statements; on the contrary, he’s almost too shy and low-profile, and this line proves it. But this time he opens up a bit more, for example when asked what grade he gives his first half of the 2026 MotoGP season. "Very high, 10/10, I really didn’t expect to be this competitive this year!" Hearing then the grades from his colleagues in the post-GP press conference (Marc Marquez gave himself a 6, Raul Fernandez a 6/7), he couldn’t resist a joke. "I’m the happiest person in here!" he said, sparking laughter. About the race, "Both in the Sprint and in the GP, it went beyond expectations, we can be really happy. Finishing 2nd after Marc on this track... I think I did my very best!"

Ai Ogura smiles: he doesn’t like the Sachsenring, he’s never hidden it, but the results were excellent again. He also reveals an interesting detail: many riders struggled with some front tire wear; he didn’t, and there’s a reason. "I was probably lucky to have had the front-end issue yesterday," he recounted. "We worked on it in the warm-up and today we managed the front tire very well to the end." But can we finally say he’s a clear title contender? "Yes, of course, we’re in a great position in the championship and we’ve done very well in the last races," he replied. "The goal is to keep working like this, but conditions can always change," he added with a grin—the usual dose of humility with a touch of superstition.

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