Legendary manager Pernat is convinced: Assen winner Ogura has a bright future!

As sports manager for Aprilia, Carlo Pernat was responsible, amongst other things, for the first world championship title won by a Japanese rider on an Italian motorbike: Kazuto Sakata triumphed in 1994 on the infamous 125cc GP Aprilia with a rotary valve intake. Later, Pernat also signed Tetsuya Harada, one of the most well-rounded riders in the World Championship at the time. Harada went on to compete in the 500cc World Championship as a factory rider.

SPEEDWEEK.comstaff member Manuel Pecino drew on the experience of the Italian – who, before his career as a rider manager, had spent many years as race director at Aprilia and secured Valentino Rossi’s first contract, amongst other things – to form an opinion on the ever-rising career of the still-Aprilia rider Ai Ogura.

GP-Manager alter Schule: Carlo Pernat

Foto: Gold and Goose

Carlo Pernat: “In my opinion, Ogura is more like Harada than Sakata. Sakata was more of a rider with ups and downs; he didn’t have a particularly strong character. Harada, on the other hand, had a strong character; for me, he was one of the best riders in the world in his day. I like Ogura because he rides very intelligently and with determination.”

Pernat, who has also served as president of FC Genoa, continued: “If you recall: in the past, Ai Ogura didn’t want to move to MotoGP with Honda. That’s because he’d realised the bike wasn’t competitive. And I can’t recall any rider who turned Honda down – certainly not a Japanese rider. That gives you an insight into Ogura’s way of thinking. As well as his talent, he also has a clear head. He has a great future ahead of him, not to mention the fact that he’s already enjoying a brilliant present.”

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Noch-Teammanager Brivio mit dem WM-Zweiten Ai Ogua

Foto: Gold and Goose

The 77-year-old from Genoa adds: “In my opinion, this is also a victory for Davide Brivio, a very good rider manager. Just to remind you: Viñales, Mir, Rins… He’s very good at managing his riders. What he has achieved with Fernández is remarkable – he has helped him develop enormously. Raúl mentions him at every opportunity and thanks him. Ogura, too, should thank Brivio. And I am convinced that Ogura will be in contention for the title right until the end of this season.”

“Even though, in my opinion, Márquez will be crowned champion once again, I believe Ogura will have the chance to challenge him for the title. And in this respect, paradoxically, being part of the Trackhouse team is an advantage. Trackhouse doesn’t want to further develop the bike. The factory bike is constantly being developed; it’s always changing or new things are being tested. Ogura has already said that he doesn’t want that. With his Japanese mentality and his will to win, he’s a strong outsider,” is Pernat’s assessment.

Ogura holt das Maximum aus der Trackhouse-Aprilia

Foto: Gold and Goose