Technician and friend Norman Rank: “Ai doesn’t go to the gym very often”

Before the MotoGP circus arrives shortly at the Sachsenring for the traditional event as part of the Liqui-Moly German Motorcycle Grand Prix, the many riders are treating themselves to a few days’ break. Assen MotoGP winner Ai Ogura flew straight back to his native Japan following his maiden victory. The 25-year-old from Tokyo, riding for the Trackhouse Aprilia team, has catapulted himself into the ranks of the top World Championship contenders thanks to his strong performances in recent races.

His former German crew chief, Norman Rank (52) – with whom Ogura won the Moto2 World Championship title in 2024 – knows the Japanese rider better than almost anyone else in the World Championship paddock. Rank, who hails from Schleiz, was a racing driver himself; he mentored Ogura for just under nine years and first took the exceptional talent under his wing at the age of 15 within the HRC youth programme for the Junior World Championship. They then progressed together through the Moto3 and Moto2 World Championships as part of Team Asia. The pair won the title in 2024 with the Spanish MSi Racing team. Ogura was runner-up in the Moto3 class in 2020 and finished second in the Moto2 World Championship in 2022.

It is not only his future Yamaha team-mate Jorge Martin who can tell you a thing or two about the Japanese rider’s riding style – as he did in an amusing way at the official press conference in Assen. Norman Rank is also full of praise for the riding style of the man from Kiyose, near Tokyo. Behind all the good results achieved by the stoic Japanese rider lies a rock-solid strategy that sounds quite simple. Rank: “Ai has his own plan. In his first year, he set himself the goal of consistently finishing in the top 10. In his second year, he set his sights on podium finishes and victory – and that’s exactly what he’s doing now.”

Teamwork: Moto2-Champion Ogura mit Norman Rank

Foto: Gold and Goose

“Ai doesn’t ride the motorbike with brute force, but with talent,” the technician notes, adding: “As far as I know, Ai has never once complained about arm pump either. He always says he learns the most whilst riding. That’s why he’s got half a dozen motorbikes at home, which he rides time and again, and he also trains on 1000cc bikes. He doesn’t go to the gym, unless he has to. At Trackhouse, that was an issue at first.”

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Norman Rank believes there’s a questionable emphasis placed on physical fitness among riders: “Some young riders look like professional boxers or MMA fighters from one year to the next. But those muscles need oxygen too.”