Ai Ogura and Jorge Martin Discuss Yamaha MotoGP Move

Ai Ogura believes partnering Jorge Martin at Yamaha will be an interesting step as both prepare to leave Aprilia for MotoGP's new era.

Martin, the current MotoGP championship leader, and Ogura, a fellow grand prix winner, will form Yamaha's new factory line-up from next season. The move comes ahead of the major 850cc and Pirelli regulation change, when bike characteristics and rider adaptation will shift significantly.

The decision also carries major competitive context. As things stand, Martin and Ogura are leaving a manufacturer leading the world championship for one currently last in the constructors' standings, making Yamaha's project a technical and strategic challenge from the start.

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“I don't want to go really deep into it, but I always take the decisions that I think are better for me, for my family and for my future,” Martin said.

“It's the same when I chose Ducati in the first moment, then I chose Aprilia, and now I choose Yamaha. So let’s see what the future brings me.”

Ogura was also reluctant to go into detail about his move. However, the Japanese rider said the opportunity to become a Yamaha factory rider carries major importance, particularly as a Japanese rider joining a Japanese manufacturer.

“There are so many things so I'm not going to explain here. Just I saw this as a good thing for me, so that's why I decided,” Ogura said.

“How strong we can be, that's something we will know in the future. But as a Japanese rider it's really important to get a ride in a factory, especially for the Japanese brand.”

“And also to have a strong teammate like Jorge is really important. It's going to be interesting.”

Despite Yamaha's current struggles, the number one plate could still appear on an M1 next season if Martin retains the championship lead. However, Martin stressed that his current focus is not on his position in the standings, but on improving his performance with Aprilia.

“Honestly, I don't really care now to be first, second, third, whatever,” Martin said of the championship standings. “I think it's anecdotal.”

“The championship is quite open. Everybody is strong. You never know if you will be able to retain [the lead] for long. So I don't really look into it. I just want to continue my preparation with Aprilia.”

Martin admitted he still needs to improve his speed after the last race, where he felt the Trackhouse riders were faster. Ogura, meanwhile, arrives at Sachsenring with a mathematical chance of taking the championship lead, but is setting a realistic target for the weekend.

“I could see in the last race I was still missing a lot of speed,” Martin said. “For sure I started well, but the Trackhouse guys were much faster than me. So I need to improve my performance.”

“Our target for this weekend is going to be in the top six,” Ogura said. “Sachsenring has always been a tricky one for me, and last year we struggled quite a lot here.”

The German Grand Prix now becomes an important part of Aprilia's internal title fight before Martin and Ogura move to Yamaha, while also serving as an early marker of how both riders maintain momentum towards MotoGP's 2027 era.