Masao Azuma

Azuma's Honda RS125R of the 2001 season

Masao Azuma ( Japanese 東 雅 雄 , Azuma Masao ; born March 24, 1971 in Osaka ,) is a former Japanese motorcycle racer .

From 1996 to 2003 he took part in the 125 cc World Championship on a Honda and was able to celebrate third place in the World Championship in 1999 . During his active career, Azuma was known as a rain specialist.

Today Masao Azuma works for the Japanese tire manufacturer Bridgestone , for which he was in charge of the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team in the MotoGP class in the 2007 season .

Career

Azuma began his career in the Japanese minibike series, then he started in the Japanese 125 cc championship , which he won in 1996 on a Honda. In the 1996 season , Azuma made his debut with a sixth place as a wildcard driver in his home race in the 125 cc class of the motorcycle world championship .

For the 1997 season, Azuma then moved permanently to the 125cc World Championship. He drove a Honda in the LB Racing Team and showed consistent performance. His best result was fourth place at the home Grand Prix. With 66 points he was finally 15th in the world championship.

In 1998 Azuma started for the Mac Motors Liegeois Competition team. He was third in the first race, the Japanese Grand Prix. In the further course of the season, after three more third places, he achieved his first Grand Prix victory at the Australian Grand Prix. Azuma eventually finished fourth in the World Cup with 135 points, making him one of the co-favorites for the title the following season.

In the 1999 season , Azuma continued to compete for the Liegois team, which this year started as the Playlife Racing Team - Liegeois . At first he lived up to his role as a favorite, Azuma won five of the first eight races of the season and led the championship standings. At the Grand Prix of the Czech Republic , however, the turning point in Azuma's season followed. A smaller animal ran into his motorcycle during qualification training, and although he fell, he was able to compete in the race and finished twelfth. Nevertheless, he did not achieve a single podium finish in the remaining six races and his two rivals for the world title, the Spaniard Emilio Alzamora and his teammate, the Italian Marco Melandri , still overtook him. Alzamora finally secured the title just one point ahead of Melandri, while Azuma was only third, which is also the best World Cup placement in his career.

The 2000 season started rather mediocre for Azuma, whose team was now called Benetton Playlife . In the last four races he achieved three podium finishes, including a win in Australia, but his inconsistent results over the course of the season only allowed him to finish fourth in the World Championship.

The 2001 season started very promisingly for the Japanese, he won two of the first three races. After that, however, the season was mediocre again and Azuma did not make a single podium finish. Almost 100 points behind world champion Manuel Poggiali , he finished fifth in the overall standings.

In 2002 Azuma started in the 125 cc class for the Tribe by Breil team and consistently achieved points. He set the only exclamation mark with his victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix , which was also to be the last in his career. Azuma finished the season in eighth place overall.

For the 2003 season, Azuma moved to the Ajo Motorsports team. There he was only able to finish in the top ten four times and suffered seven retirements at the same time. At the fourth last race, the Pacific Grand Prix in Motegi , he announced his retirement at the end of the season. At the penultimate race in Australia, he finished second in the rain and clinched his last podium finish. With a 16th place overall, Masao Azuma finally said goodbye to active racing after 110 grands prix and ten victories in the world championship.

statistics

title

• 1996 - Japanese 125cc champion on a Honda
• 10 Grand Prix victories

In the motorcycle world championship

season	class	motorcycle	run	Victories	Podiums	Poles	Points	Result
1996	125 cc	Honda	1	-	-	-	10	24.
1997	125 cc	Honda	15th	-	-	-	66	15th
1998	125 cc	Honda	14th	1	5	-	135	4th
1999	125 cc	Honda	16	5	5	2	190	3.
2000	125 cc	Honda	16	1	6th	-	176	4th
2001	125 cc	Honda	16	2	2	-	142	5.
2002	125 cc	Honda	16	1	1	-	101	8th.
2003	125 cc	Honda	16	-	1	-	64	16.
total			110	10	20th	2	884

References

Web links

Commons : Masao Azuma  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Masao Azuma on the official website of the Motorcycle World Championship (English).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 「東 雅 雄 と い う 男」 . Honda, accessed March 15, 2010 (Japanese).