Osamu Miyazaki (born 23 January 1966) is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the first full-time rider in the championship from Japan. After winning his first race in the All Japan Road Race Championship at age 26, Miyazaki joined Aprilia and moved to Italy in 1996 to compete in the Grand Prix. After riding with Aprilla for three seasons, he raced with Yamaha, and helped them with the development of the TZ 250 and YZF-R6. In 2002, he won the Japanese Grand Prix. He left the Grand Prix circuit in 2004 to race in the All Japan Road Race Championship, retiring after the 2011 season.
| Osamu Miyazaki | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Yamaha TZ250 similar to that which Miyazaki rode | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Motorcycling career
editMiyazaki started racing when he was 23, when he entered the All Japan Road Race Championship riding 250 cc motorcycles, and won his first race in the championship three seasons later.[1] At that time, he migrated to the Grand Prix, initially competing in the 1991 Japanese race. He subsequently entered the race the following year, coming thirteenth overall. Following this success, he joined the Italian Aprilia team, which at the time was not well known in Japan. He achieved his first points in 1995.[2] He moved to Italy to race in the Grand Prix professionally, the second Japanese rider at the Championships and the first Japanese contender to participate full-time.[1][2]
He achieved his first win at the 2002 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix at Suzuka while racing with Motorex Daytona Yamaha.[3] He started at eighth place and finishing almost ten seconds ahead of the next competitor.[4] He entered as a Japanese wildcard.[5]
In 2004, he moved to racing 600 cc motorcycles in the All Japan Road Race Championships. After four years, he had achieved second place at the end of the season.[1] He started his own team in 2008 and took pole position the following year in the third round at Autopolis, but suffered a serious injury at the end of the season.[6][7] He subsequently raced in 2010 and 2011, retiring shortly afterwards.[8]
Legacy
editMiyazaki was involved in the development of the Yamaha TZ 250 and Yamaha YZF-R6.[1] He worked with Dunlop Tyres in tyre R&D in 2004 and coached Chinese competitors in 2009.[2]
Career statistics
editGrand Prix motorcycle racing
editRaces by year
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Osamu Miyazaki". Speed of Japan. 2018. Archived from the original on 28 July 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ a b c "Profile". miyazaki72 (in Japanese). 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "Miyazaki wins 250 race full of late developments". MotoGP. 7 April 2002. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
- ^ "Miyazaki wins 250cc race for Yamaha". crash.net. 7 April 2002. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "Miyazaki and Sakai keep up the tradition of wildcard Japanese success". MotoGP. 4 April 2002. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
- ^ 文部科学大臣杯 2009年MFJ全日本ロードレース選手権シリーズ第3戦 [Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Cup 2009 MFJ All Japan Road Race Championship Series Round 3]. miyazaki72 (in Japanese). 2009. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
- ^ "Osamu Miyazaki signs with Ito Racing". Speed of Japan. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ "Race Results". miyazaki72. 2011. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "MotoGP Riders: Osama Miyazaki". motogp.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2022.