“Factory teams will come after him” prediction about MotoGP eye-catcher

Factory MotoGP teams will have an eye on a talented rookie, it has been claimed by Davide Brivio.

Ai Ogura has transitioned from Moto2 to MotoGP impressively this year.

Brivio - a key cog in the careers of Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo - hand-picked Ogura for his Trackhouse team this year.

That was despite all signs pointing towards Ogura’s Moto2 rival Joe Roberts, who would have been a US rider in the American Trackhouse environment.

Moto2 champion Ogura finished fifth in the first premier class grand prix of his rookie campaign, an early signal about his talent and Brivio’s decision-making.

MotoGP rider market prediction about Ai Ogura

The Japanese rider has four top-10 finishes in five grands prix this season, and sits eighth in the MotoGP standings.

He has been a highlight amid Aprilia’s bigger woes surrounding Jorge Martin’s injuries.

But Ogura’s form could not attract larger MotoGP teams who might want to poach him.

“For 2027, it’s clear that some factory team will come after him,” Brivio told Motorsport.com.

“But we’ll have to see what options arise then.”

Ogura and Trackhouse teammate Raul Fernandez are contracted with their team until the end of 2026.

“Ai is a guy who listens a lot, learns quickly, and knows what he wants — he doesn’t waste time on things that don’t matter,” Brivio said.

Ogura has dramatically out-performed his teammate Fernandez this year.

Fernandez is in his third season in the premier class but his best grand prix result so far in 2025 is 12th, at the Circuit of the Americas.