Ai Ogura has emerged as MotoGP’s highest point scorer since the European leg of the season began in April, underlining the progress he has made in only his second season in the premier class.
The Japanese rider made a promising start to the year in the opening flyaways, capitalising on an improved Aprilia bike to put his 2025 troubles immediately behind. But while other Aprilia riders stumbled for one reason or another over the following months, Ogura remained consistent as ever, fixing that one weakness that had been holding him back – one-lap pace. It took him until the Czech GP to sort out his qualifying woes, but everything now points to him becoming a regular contender for the front row.
Combined with his trademark late-race pace, Ogura has now established himself as a serious title contender against far more experienced riders. Whether the Trackhouse rider would be able to deal with the pressure of fighting for a MotoGP title in his sophomore season remains to be seen, his recent run of form has been nothing short of extraordinary.
In the last eight rounds across Europe, covering the stretch from Jerez in April to Sachsenring in July, he scored a total of 157 points at an average of 19.6 per weekend. That haul has elevated him to second in the championship standings, only behind the factory Aprilia of Jorge Martin.
Most points scored from the start of the European leg (Jerez, round 4)
Marc Marquez ranked second with 145 points, although the Ducati rider missed the Sunday race at Le Mans and the entire Barcelona weekend due to surgery. Furthermore, it was only after he returned to action at Mugello that he was able to rediscover the form that had been missing since his crash at the Indonesian GP last October. Since then, he has been the benchmark, with three victories in the last four grands prix reigniting his title bid. Having scored 45 points from the opening three rounds, he has now added another 145 to his tally.
That trend becomes even clearer over the last four rounds alone. Since Mugello, Marquez has scored 119 points, comfortably ahead of Ogura’s 102, highlighting how dramatically his fortunes have changed since surgery.
Ai Ogura, Trackhouse Racing, Marc Marquez, Ducati Team, Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Fabio di Giannantonio’s consistency is reflected in his results, with the VR46 rider establishing himself as the third-highest points scorer in the summer. His victory in the Catalan GP was significant for his title challenge, but he also made a rare error at the Sachsenring after switching to the same aero configuration as the Marquez brothers.
Meanwhile, while Martin ascended to the top of the standings during the summer, his campaign so far has been marked by brilliant highs and frustrating lows. Question marks remain about his form and fitness after a bruising weekend in Barcelona triggered a downturn, with Mugello the only race where he appeared to thrive.
Raul Fernandez and Francesco Bagnaia scored virtually the same number of points, although illness (in the case of Fernandez) and technical problems (in the case of Bagnaia) meant they couldn’t get the best out of their bikes.
Still, they comfortably scored more points than Marco Bezzecchi, who has endured a dramatic collapse in form. The Italian still collected 105 points across the European leg, including a dominant victory at Mugello. But his results took a nosedive the week after the Italian GP, and he has failed to register a single point in the last four Sunday races. Some good results in sprints meant he didn’t leave the run of races in June/July completely empty-handed, but he only managed to muster 13 points during that period.
The start of the European leg was crucial, as it brought Ducati back into play after Aprilia’s commanding start to the year. Since then, the advantage has swung back and forth between the two Italian manufacturers, with track characteristics playing a key role in deciding the winner each weekend.
Four more rounds are scheduled in Europe in August and September following the summer break, before the championship heads to the Asia-Pacific for a stretch of five flyaway rounds. The season will conclude with back-to-back races in Portugal and Valencia at the end of November.
Most points scored in the last four rounds (Balaton Park-Brno-Assen-Sachsenring)
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– The Autosport.com Team
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