Masao Azuma (born March 24, 1971 in
Kōchi, Japan) is a Japanese former
Grand Prix
Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour
Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to:
Arts and entertainment ...
motorcycle
A motorcycle (motorbike, bike, or trike (if three-wheeled)) is a two or three-wheeled motor vehicle steered by a handlebar. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long-distance travel, commuting, cruising ...
road racer who competed in the 125cc class from
1996
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to
2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
. During his eight years in the 125 class he rode exclusively for
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.
Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a product ...
and used
Bridgestone
is a Japanese multinational tire manufacturer founded in 1931 by Shojiro Ishibashi (1889–1976) in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of , meaning 'stone bridge' in Japan ...
tyres for six of those years. He finished in the Top 5 of the Championship for four consecutive years.
Early career
Azuma began racing minibikes at an early age in the Japanese national championships. He was the Japanese National 125cc Champion in 1993 and 1994. He made his 125cc World Championship debut as a wildcard at
Suzuka in 1996 and finished an impressive 6th.
1997
Azuma competed in the full
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
season for the LB Racing Team and showed good consistency regularly finishing just outside the top 10. He scored a best finish of 4th, again at his home round at Suzuka. He finished the season in 15th place in the Championship.
1998
Azuma joined the Leigeois Competition team and aside from four DNFs never finished outside the top 10. Five podium finishes, including a win in Australia saw him finishing 4th overall in the Championship and marked him out as one of the top Japanese riders and a title contender for the following year.
1999
With the same team in
1999
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(now renamed the Liegeois Playlife Racing Team) Azuma began a serious title bid, winning five of the first eight races, securing two pole positions (the only poles of his career) and leading the 125cc Championship. Disaster awaited at Rd 10 in
Brno
Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...
however. During qualifying a small deer ran onto the track right into the path of Azuma's accelerating motorcycle. In the ensuing crash, Azuma was not seriously injured and raced the next day eventually finishing 12th. However, it was to be a turning point in the year, and perhaps his career. The remaining six rounds saw erratic and relatively poor results from Azuma, while his title rivals
Marco Melandri
Marco Melandri (born 7 August 1982) is an Italian retired motorcycle road racer who is a five-time premier class race winner. He is the 2002 250 cc World Champion and runner-up in 125 cc, MotoGP and Superbike World Championship. He c ...
and
Emilio Alzamora
Emilio Alzamora Escardibul (born May 22, 1973 in Lleida, Spain) is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the 1999 F.I.M. 125cc world champion. He is the second rider to win a Grand Prix motorcycle world championship without having ...
gained on him in the Championship. Melandri scored 5 race wins in the latter half of the season, and Champion-to-be Alzamora's consistent podium finishes would eventually relegate Azuma to 3rd in the Championship. This was to be his highest Championship finish.
2000
Now under the Benetton Playlife banner, Azuma's
2000
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season was an erratic one with four DNFs countered by six podiums. He put together a good string of results towards the end of the season with a fifth, two second places and a win at the final round in Australia, but the inconsistency up to then meant he couldn't challenge for the title. He finished the championship in fourth.
2001
The
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
season started out promising with Azuma winning two of the first three races. By winning the first race of the new season and the last race of the previous season Azuma was to set a 125 class record that would not be repeated again until
2007
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when
Hector Faubel
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
won the
last race of 2006 and the
first race of 2007. However, an inconsistent season was to follow and Azuma never managed to make it onto the podium during the rest of the season. He finished 5th in the Championship, almost 100 points behind the eventual Champion
Manuel Poggiali
Manuel Poggiali (; born 14 February 1983) is a Sammarinese Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion. He was the 2001 125cc World Champion, and the 2003 250cc World Champion. He scored 12 race wins, 11 pole positions, and 35 podium finis ...
.
2002
Now in the Trial by Breil team, Azuma's
2002
File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...
season got off to a slow start, his only podium appearance being a win at the
Brazilian Grand Prix
The Brazilian Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio do Brasil), currently held under the name São Paulo Grand Prix ( pt, Grande Prêmio de São Paulo), is a Formula One championship race which is currently held at the Autódromo José Carlos Pace ...
near the end of the season. This was to be his final win at World Championship level. He finished the season 8th in the Championship.
2003
Moving to the Ajo Motorsports team, Azuma struggled to make headway, with only 4 Top 10 finishes all season and 7 DNFs. He announced his retirement at his home race, the Pacific GP at Motegi, with 3 rounds still to go. At the GP in Australia, he recorded his best result all year with a 2nd place. He retired from racing at the end of the season, finishing in 16th place in the Championship.
Post-racing career
While his riding career was over, Masao Azuma continued to work in the MotoGP paddock.
In 2007, he worked with Bridgestone tyres as their MotoGP Field Engineer for the Rizla Suzuki MotoGP team, and in 2008 he switched to the works Ducati MotoGP team in the same role.
References
Official MotoGP SiteResults for the 125cc class, 1996 to 2003Interview with Masao Azuma in April 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Azuma, Masao
Japanese motorcycle racers
125cc World Championship riders
1971 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Kōchi Prefecture