Yukio Kagayama

Yukio Kagayama

Yukio Kagayama
Nationality Japanese
Born 4 May 1974 (1974-05-04) (age 37)
Yokohama, Japan
Current team Worx Suzuki
Bike number 71
Website kagayama.com
Yukio Kagayama
Nationality Japanese
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years 1997 - 1999, 2001 - 2004
First race 1997 250cc Japanese Grand Prix
Last race 2004 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix
Team(s) Suzuki
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
14 0 0 0 65

Yukio Kagayama (born 4 May 1974 in Yokohama Japan) is a professional motorcycle road racer. He began motorcycle racing in 1990, spending many years in the All Japan Road Race Championship, finishing fourth in 2001. He contested four 250 cc World Championship races in 1997 and 1998, finishing top-8 in all four. In 2003 he raced in the British Superbike Championship for Rizla Suzuki, alongside double British champion John Reynolds, and had won three races when he crashed heavily at Cadwell Park.

He returned for the start of 2004,[1] finishing 3rd in the championship despite not being at full fitness early in the season (a further crash caused a broken collarbone). He has also made various starts for Suzuki in Grand Prix racing, scoring several top 10 finishes in wildcard rides.

Superbike World Championship

For 2005 he joined 1996 Superbike World Champion Troy Corser in the Alstare Suzuki team in the Superbike World Championship, and won races on the GSX-R1000, riding on largely unfamiliar circuits against some of the world's top riders. He finished 5th overall, and did enough to retain his ride for 2006. In the first race, he collided with Noriyuki Haga while battling for the lead on the final lap. He then had a run of poor results, before taking a third and a fourth at Misano, and then an impressive double win from the second row at Brno,[2] nearly doubling his points total in one weekend. He came 7th overall in the series.

In 2007 he remained at Suzuki, but missed four rounds through injury.[3] He finished the season ranked 13th.[4] For 2008 he switches his racing number to #34, as used by former 500 cc World Champion Kevin Schwantz. Again he had an injury-hit season, and was easily the lowest-placed of the three works Suzuki riders in the standings.

In 2010 Kagayama returned to the British Superbike Championship riding for the Worx Suzuki team. His teammate is Tommy Hill.

References

  1. ^ Meeke, Kieran (May 24, 2004). "Yukio Kagayama". Metro.co.uk. http://www.metro.co.uk/fame/interviews/article.html?in_article_id=742&in_page_id=11. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  2. ^ "Kagayama storms to Czech double". BBC Sport. July 23, 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/5208202.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  3. ^ "Yukio Kagayama Statistics & Biography". Crash Media Group Ltd. http://www.crash.net/motorsport/wsbk/racer_bio/2074/yukio_kagayama.html. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 
  4. ^ "Haga rides to double win at Monza". BBC Sport. May 13, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/motorbikes/6651911.stm. Retrieved 2008-11-19. 

External links