Noriyasu Numata

Noriyasu Numata
Noriyasu Numata
Nationality	Japanese
Born	April 26, 1966; Chiba, Japan
Died	September 4, 2007 (aged 41); Mimasaka, Japan
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years	1995–1999
First race	1995 250cc Japanese Grand Prix
Last race	1999 500cc Japanese Grand Prix
Team(s)	Suzuki, Muz
Superbike World Championship
Active years	2003
Supersport World Championship
Active years	2000

Last updated April 28, 2019

Noriyasu Numata(沼田憲保,Numata Noriyasu, 26 April 1966 - 4 September 2007) was a Grand Prix motorcycle road racer born in Chiba, Japan. He competed in 250cc Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1995 to 1998. He was killed in an accident during tyre testing for Dunlop at Okayama International Circuit in Japan.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing refers to the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by FIM. Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start of the twentieth century and large national events were often given the title Grand Prix, The foundation of a recognised international governing body for motorcycle sport, the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme in 1949 provided the opportunity to coordinate rules and regulations in order that selected events could count towards official World Championships as FIM Road Racing World Championship Grand Prix. It is the oldest established motorsport world championship.

A motorcycle, often called a bike, motorbike, or cycle, is a two- or three-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycle design varies greatly to suit a range of different purposes: long distance travel, commuting, cruising, sport including racing, and off-road riding. Motorcycling is riding a motorcycle and related social activity such as joining a motorcycle club and attending motorcycle rallies.

Road racing is a form of motorsport racing held on a paved road surfaces. 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 public roads however, public safety concerns eventually led to most races being held on purpose built racing circuits.

Early career

He competed in the 250cc All-Japan Road Racing Championship from 1991 to 1996. In 1993 he was signed by Suzuki who were entering the Championship for the first time with the RGV250. Numata took the machine to its first victory at Round 9 of the championship. He went on to give Suzuki its first ever 250cc national title in 1995, beating Honda’s Tohru Ukawa, and repeated the feat again the following year beating future 250cc World Champion Daijiro Kato.

The Suzuki RGV250 (Gamma) was a Suzuki high performance sport bike which had a great number of its features and design cues based on Grand Prix technologies and ideas. It is a race-replica based on Suzuki's 250 cc (15 cu in) GP bikes from 1987 to 1998, the RGV Gamma V-2 racer. This motorcycle replaced the RG250 Gamma, which employed an alloy frame with a two-stroke parallel twin engine. The bike produced over 50 bhp in a narrow power band between 8,000 and 11,000 rpm. The dry weight ranged between 128 kg (282 lb) (1989) to 140 kg (309 lb) dry weight.

Tohru Ukawa is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Japan.

Daijiro Kato was a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, the 2001 250cc world champion, and the 2000 and 2002 Suzuka 8 Hours winner. He died as a result of injuries sustained after a crash during the 2003 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix at Suzuka circuit, Japan.

Grand Prix Career

He got a wild card ride in both the 1995 and 1996 Japanese Grand Prix and while a non-finisher in 1995, rode an impressive race in 1996 to finish 2nd behind then 250cc World Champion Max Biaggi.

The 1995 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 47th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

The 1996 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 48th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

The Japanese Motorcycle Grand Prix (日本グランプリ) is a motorcycling event that is part of the Grand Prix motorcycle racing season.

Numata then competed for two years in the 250cc World Championships with Suzuki. However, the machine received little development as the factory were concentrating on their 500cc effort. Numata finished 1997 in 12th position, and 1998 in 16th but in each case he finished well ahead of his team-mates on similar machinery.

The 1997 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 49th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

The 1998 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 50th F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

In 1999, Numata had a one-off ride on the Muz 500 as a replacement rider for Luca Cadalora in the 500cc class, finishing 13th in the race.

The 1999 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season was the 51st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season.

The Muz 500 was a motorcycle that competed in the 1998 and 1999 500 cc Road Racing World Championship.

Luca Cadalora is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world champion.

Post Grand Prix Career

He also made one-off appearances in Supersport World Championship and Superbike World Championship races in 2000 and 2003, but retired on each occasion. Numata, like many of the top Japanese riders, was also a regular competitor in the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance race. He competed in the event on seven occasions between 1991 and 2002, his best finish being a 4th place in 1993 partnered with Akira Yanagawa. From 2004 to 2007 he competed in the All Japan Road Race Championships in the 600cc class, finishing 5th and 6th in 2004 and 2005 respectively. At the time of his death, he held 11th place in the 2007 Championship.

The Supersport World Championship, short WorldSSP, is a motorcycle racing competition on paved surfaces, based on mid-sized sports motorcycles. Competition machines are based on 600-750cc - depending on the number of cylinders - production-based motorcycles. The championship runs as a support class to the Superbike World Championship, which is similarly based on large production-based sports motorcycles. The championship, organized and promoted as its parent series by FGSport—renamed Infront Motor Sports in 2008—until 2012 and by Dorna from the 2013 season onwards, is sanctioned by the FIM.

Superbike World Championship is a motorsport road racing series for modified production motorcycles also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded in 1988. The Superbike World Championship consists of a series of rounds held on permanent racing facilities. Each round has two full length races and one ten lap sprint race known as the Superpole race. The results of all three races are combined to determine two annual World Championships, one for riders and one for manufacturers.

The 2003 Superbike World Championship was the sixteenth FIM Superbike World Championship season. The season started on 2 March at Valencia and finished on 19 October at Magny-Cours after 12 rounds.

Related Research Articles

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Massimiliano "Max" Biaggi is an Italian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racing World Champion and winner of the 2010 and 2012 World Superbike Championship. Throughout his racing career, he has won the 250cc World Championship four consecutive times, and finished as runner-up in both the 500cc and MotoGP championships. In 2007 he switched to the World Superbike Championship, finishing third overall as a rookie and earned his first Superbike World Championship in 2010 becoming only the 2nd European from outside the United Kingdom after Raymond Roche to do so. Biaggi announced his retirement from racing on 7 November 2012.

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References

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