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.
Wayne Wesley Rainey is an American former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, he won the 500cc World Championship three times and the Daytona 200 once. He was characterized by his smooth, calculating riding style, and for his intense rivalry with compatriot Kevin Schwantz, between 1987 and 1993.
The Suzuka International Racing Course, more famously known as the Suzuka Circuit, is a 5.807 km (3.608 mi) long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000.
Kazuyoshi Hoshino is a Japanese former racing driver and businessman.
Wayne Michael Gardner is an Australian former professional Grand Prix motorcycle and touring car racer. His most notable achievement was winning the 1987 500 cc Motorcycle World Championship, becoming the first Australian to win motorcycling's premier class. His success on the world motorcycle road racing circuit earned him the nickname The Wollongong Whiz. Both of Gardner's sons, Remy and Luca, are motorcycle racers.
Kenneth Leroy Roberts is an American former professional motorcycle racer and racing team owner. In 1978, he became the first American to win a Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championship. He was also a two-time winner of the A.M.A. Grand National Championship. Roberts is one of only four riders in American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) racing history to win the AMA Grand Slam, representing Grand National wins at a mile, half-mile, short-track, TT Steeplechase and road race events.
Eddie Lawson is an American former four-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. His record of not crashing and consistently finishing in the points earned him the nickname "Steady Eddie".
Alexandre Barros is a Brazilian former professional motorcycle road racer who is a 7-time 500cc/MotoGP race winner and also a race winner in Superbike World Championship. After a long Grand Prix career, in 2006 he moved to the Superbike World Championship. He returned to MotoGP for 2007, but retired by the end of the season.
Noriyuki Haga is a Japanese former professional motorcycle racer. He won 43 world championship superbike races during a 25 year racing career, making him one of the most accomplished competitors never to have won a Superbike World Championship. Haga was the runner-up in the championship three times and, four times finished in third place. His 43 victories ranks fourth all time in the history of the Superbike World Championship behind Jonathan Rea, Carl Fogarty and Troy Bayliss. Haga ranks fourth behind Troy Corser, Tom Sykes and Jonathan Rea in career World Superbike race starts with 313. He last competed in the 2018 CIV Supersport 600 Championship, aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6.
Daryl Beattie is a former Grand Prix solo motorcycle road racer.
Terence William Rymer is an English former professional motorcycle road racer turned car and truck racer. Rymer won over 200 races in 20 years of competition during his motorcycle and car racing career.
Graeme Crosby is a former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from New Zealand. A versatile rider, Crosby was equally capable on either four stroke Superbike racers or two stroke Grand Prix racers. He is the only person to have won the Daytona 200, the Imola 200, the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race, and the Isle of Man TT.
Kevin Magee is an Australian former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who raced in 36 grands prix during his career, winning the 1988 Spanish Grand Prix. He is currently a television commentator for Fox Sports Australia.
Shinichi Ito born December 7, 1966 in Kakuda, Miyagi, Japan) is a retired professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He has raced extensively in Japanese and International championships. Ito has competed in the All Japan Road Race Championship, and won the Japanese 500 cc Championship, and is also 3 times Japanese Superbike Champion. In the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hour Endurance Race he has qualified on pole 5 times and won the race 3 times. Ito has also raced in Superbike World Championship. His considerable experience on different types of racing machine has earned him a reputation as a premier development rider.
Mike Baldwin is an American former professional motorcycle road racer. He was a top contender in AMA Superbike racing during the 1980s who also competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing. Baldwin was inducted into the AMA Motorcycle Hall of Fame in 2001.
Dominique Sarron is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from France. His best year was in 1986 when he won the Brazilian Grand Prix and finished in third place in the 250cc world championship behind Carlos Lavado and Sito Pons. He won two races in 1988 riding for Honda and ended the season ranked fourth.
Nobuatsu Aoki is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Aoki began his Grand Prix career in 1990 and won his first and only Grand Prix at the 250cc Malaysian Grand Prix. His best season was in 1997, when he finished third in the 500cc world championship behind Mick Doohan and Tadayuki Okada. In 2009, he teamed with Daisaku Sakai and Kazuki Tokudome on a Suzuki GSX-R1000 to win the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race. He is the oldest of three Aoki brothers who have competed in motorcycle Grand Prix races.
Hideo Kanaya was a Japanese professional motorcycle racer and motorcycle racing team manager. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle road racing world championships from 1967 to 1975. He dominated Japanese road racing in the early 1970s and was the first Japanese rider to win a world championship 500cc Grand Prix race. Although Kanaya was a competitive racer, he was never allowed to compete in a full season in the world championships as, his main responsibility was as a test rider in Japan.
Takeshi Tsujimura is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer from Japan. Tsujimura began his Grand Prix career in 1993 with Yamaha. He enjoyed his best season in 1994 when he won four races and finished the season in third place behind Kazuto Sakata and Noboru Ueda in the 125cc world championship. In 2006, he teamed with Shinichi Itoh to win the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race.
Masahiro Shimizu is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.
