Ai Ogura’s third-place finish at the French Grand Prix marked the first MotoGP podium for a Japanese rider since 2012, finally ending the longest barren run for the country since Hideo Kanaya opened Japan’s rostrum account at the 1973 French GP.
Ai Ogura, Trackhouse Racing (Photo by: Loic Venance / AFP via Getty Images)
To appreciate the significance, consider that Japan endured 14 years without a top-three finish—a scenario unthinkable for much of the modern MotoGP era, especially given the expanded calendar. The country’s manufacturers dominated the premier class from the 1960s, yet after Kanaya’s Yamaha podium, results came steadily until they halted at 93 podiums following Katsuyuki Nakasuga’s second place in the wet 2012 Valencia finale.
Success was sporadic in the 1970s and 1980s, with most podiums earned by Kanaya (five) and Takazumi Katayama (eight). It was only in the 1990s that Japanese riders—almost always riding for domestic factories—began delivering consistently strong results. Shinichi Itoh, Norick Abe, Tadayuki Okada, and the Aoki brothers became top names in the 500cc category.
Another wave emerged after the turn of the century, led by Tohru Ukawa and the late Daijiro Katoh. Makoto Tamada frequently performed for Honda, and it was routine when he won his home Grand Prix in 2004—he was not even the only local on the Motegi podium that day, with Shinya Nakano completing it for Kawasaki.
Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing Team), Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Racing) (Photo by: Loic Venance / AFP via Getty Images)
Few predicted that Tamada’s win would remain Japan’s last Grand Prix victory to this day. The country’s rider success then plummeted: Tamada was third in Japan in 2005, Nakano second at Assen in 2006—and then the outlier of Valencia 2012. Only then did the real drought begin, partly because Japanese factories increasingly leaned toward European riders. Ironically, it took a man on a European bike to finally knock on the podium door.
Ogura came close at the US Grand Prix in March, but a mechanical issue robbed him of a likely third place. At Le Mans, his customary late-race charge finally ended the wait. That an Italian machine carried a Japanese rider back to the top three is notable—Yamaha hopes to address this by signing Ogura for next season. But long-time fans recall that this is not the first time a Japanese rider has reached the podium on an Aprilia: in 1999, Tetsuya Harada scored two third places on the Aprilia project in France and Great Britain.
With Ogura’s third place at Le Mans, Japan now has 94 podiums in total, placing seventh on the all-time list behind Italy (795), Spain, the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia, and France.
