Assen hero Ai Ogura on the Sachsenring: Respect for the Waldmann Bend

The MotoGP World Championship heads to the Sachsenring in Germany this weekend. Of course, Ai Ogura will be there too, having recently secured Japan’s first MotoGP race win since 2004 (Makoto Tamada) at the TT Circuit Assen. Following his impressive haul of points at Assen, the Trackhouse-Aprilia rider is right in the thick of the World Championship battle, where eight riders are still very much in contention at the halfway point of the season.

Following his triumph in the Netherlands, the 25-year-old travelled straight back to his native Japan, where he has long been a national hero and where he will be spending more time during the Grand Prix breaks in 2026. However, the Sachsenring also gives even the stoic ‘tyre whisperer’ pause for thought. In 2024, Ogura finished third on the podium in the Moto2 class on the tight circuit – last year, he retired midway through the race at Hohenstein-Ernstthal on his MotoGP debut.

“The Sachsenring has always been tricky for me,” admits Ogura. “Every time I come here, I feel a bit lost, and I ask myself: ‘Can I be quick or not?’ So it’s a challenge, but two or three years ago things went quite well. Let’s see how it goes this time.” But the man from Tokyo also knows: “This year, the situation is different – we feel that we’re much more competitive now. I’m almost certain that we can fight for a better position this time – but first we’ve got to get going.”

Ogura has a great deal of respect for the right-hand Turn 11 – the Waldmann Bend, named after the 20-time Grand Prix winner, which leads downhill into the ‘Waterfall’. “It doesn’t feel like jumping off a cliff now, but it’s certainly a daunting corner,” Ogura notes. “Especially because of the cold right-hand tyre sidewall. That’s why I’m hoping for hot conditions. If it’s cool, then this corner is definitely a critical spot after so many left-hand bends. I’m not a big fan of this corner, but it just happens to be one of the most exciting corners on this circuit.”

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10.07.2026 - 08:55