is a Japanese motorcycle

road racer Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held either on a closed circuit or on a street circuit utilizing temporarily closed public roads. Originally, road races were held almost entirely on publ ...

. He is a two-time champion in the All-Japan Superbike Championship, and has competed sporadically in the MotoGP World Championship. He is known in his native Japan as a competitor in the MFJ All Japan Road Race GP250 Championship, and most notably the All Japan Superbike championship, where he has enjoyed success with the Yoshimura

Suzuki is a Japan, Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, All-terrain vehicle, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs ...

team riding a Suzuki GSX-R1000. In July 2007 he, along with Yukio Kagayama, won the

Suzuka 8 Hours The is a motorcycle endurance race held at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan each year. The race runs for eight hours consecutively and entrants are composed of two or more riders who alternate during pitstops. History The race began in 1978 as a ...

endurance race on a Yoshimura Suzuki bike.

Career

National racing

Akiyoski made his début in the All Japan GP250 Championship in 1995, riding a Suzuki RGV250. He finished in 24th in his first season, before improving to 10th the following season. In 1997, Akiyoshi moved into the

All Japan Superbike Championship The is the premiere motorcycle road racing championship in Japan. It is run by the Motorcycle Federation of Japan (MFJ) (日本モーターサイクルスポーツ協会) – the Japanese affiliate of the FIM. History The MFJ was formed in 19 ...

– later the All Japan JSB1000 Championship – where he has spent the majority of his career. He won the championship in 2010 and 2011, riding a Honda CBR1000RR.

Grand Prix appearances

Akiyoshi has also competed in a number of Grands Prix of the

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

series. These have included The Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, where he finished 13th on his debut with the Rizla Suzuki team as a wildcard rider, as well as two races in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

at Jerez and Japan. He came 17th at the Spanish race, and had a good run in Japan where he was running 7th behind Casey Stoner, but retired four laps from the finish. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he competed in the Japanese Grand Prix for a third year running, again for Rizla Suzuki. He retired on lap 1 after going down at the first corner. In the 2010 season, Akiyoshi stood in for the injured Hiroshi Aoyama at the Interwetten Honda team. He competed in two races for the team, finishing 15th at the

Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known as the ‘Cathedral of Speed'. The event attained world champ ...

in Assen and 13th at the Catalan Grand Prix in Catalunya. He was then replaced by San Marinese rider Alex de Angelis. Akiyoshi replaced Aoyama once again at the Gresini Racing team for the

2011 Dutch TT The 2011 Dutch TT was the seventh round of the 2011 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season. It took place on the weekend of 23–25 June 2011 at the TT Circuit Assen. MotoGP race report This race was most notable for Marco Simoncelli taking out Jo ...

, however not through injury, as Aoyama himself replaced the injured Dani Pedrosa at Repsol Honda. Akiyoshi also competed at the Japanese Grand Prix as a wildcard entry with LCR Honda – along with Shinichi Itoh, racing for HRC Honda – as a gesture of support for those affected by the March

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami The occurred at 14:46 JST (05:46 UTC) on 11 March. The magnitude 9.0–9.1 (M) undersea megathrust earthquake had an epicenter in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Oshika Peninsula of the Tōhoku region, and lasted approximately six minutes ...

Career statistics

Races by year

( key)

Suzuka 8 Hours results

Asia Superbike 1000

Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

Kousuke Akiyoshi official website

Official MotoGP homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Akiyoshi, Kousuke Japanese motorcycle racers Repsol Honda MotoGP riders Living people 1975 births People from Kurume Suzuki MotoGP riders Gresini Racing MotoGP riders LCR Team MotoGP riders MotoGP World Championship riders