Tōru Ukawa

Ukawa 2003 on Honda at the Japanese Grand Prix

Tōru Ukawa ( Japanese 宇 川 徹 , Ukawa Tōru ; born May 18, 1973 in Chiba Prefecture , Japan ) is a former Japanese motorcycle racer .

In the 1999 season he was runner- up on a Honda in the 250 cc class of the motorcycle world championship , and with five overall victories he is the record winner at the 8-hour race in Suzuka .

Career

Tōru Ukawa began his career, like many of his colleagues, on minibikes . He started road racing in earnest at the age of 16. In 1992 Ukawa made his debut in the Japanese 250cc championship and finished the season in 13th place in the overall standings. In 1993 and 1994 Tōru Ukawa then secured the title in this class. He made his debut in the motorcycle world championship in 1994 as a wildcard driver with a fantastic third place in his home race in the 250 cc class on a Honda .

Between 1996 and 2000 , Ukawa started as a regular Honda driver in the 250 cc World Championship. He achieved his best overall result in 1999 when he was runner- up behind the Italian Valentino Rossi . Ukawa won a total of five Grand Prix races in these five years and made it onto the podium 29 times.

In the 2001 season , Tōru Ukawa started for the Repsol YPF Honda Team in the 500 cc class. With his changeable performances, a third place at the Grand Prix of South Africa as the best result of the season and tenth place in the overall standings, however, he fell short of expectations.

Due to his loyalty to Honda and because the Japanese wanted a local driver next to superstar Valentino Rossi, Ukawa was signed for the Honda factory team in 2002 . The technical regulations were changed for this season and the 500 cc class was replaced by the MotoGP class. Ukawa drove, the only driver besides Rossi, the all-new Honda RC211V - four-stroke engines , which turned out in the course of the season as the superior motorcycle. With a victory in South Africa and a total of nine podium positions, Ukawa finally secured third place in the overall World Championship standings, only surpassed by Valentino Rossi and his compatriot Max Biaggi , who started for Yamaha . He also gave Honda, together with Rossi, the superior title in the constructors' world championship .

For the 2003 season , Tōru Ukawa was replaced in the Repsol Honda factory team by the young American Nicky Hayden and moved to the Camel Pramac Pons team of ex-world champion Sito Pons . There he drove, without reaching a podium, with consistent results among the top ten in seventh place in the overall standings.

After the season, Ukawa retired as a regular rider from the motorcycle world championship and became a full-time test driver for Honda.

In addition to his involvement in the motorcycle world championship, Ukawa also competed regularly for Honda in the prestigious 8-hour race in Suzuka . With five wins between 1997 and 2005, he is still the most successful driver there.

successes

• 250 cc vice world champion: 1999
• Japanese 250cc Champion : 1993, 1994
• Winner of the 8-hour race in Suzuka : 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005

Web links

• Tōru Ukawa on the official website of the Motorcycle World Championship (English).