Repsol riders. Hiroshi Aoyama
Date of birth: October 25, 1981
Place of birth: Chiba, Japan
Place of Residence: Barcelona, Spain
Age: 23 years
First Grand Prix: 2000 Pacific GP (250cc)
First Podium Finish: 2003 Japanese GP (250cc)
First Pole Position: 2003 Japanese GP (250cc)
First Fastest Lap: 2003 Japanese GP (250cc)
Total Grand Prix: 23
Fastest Laps: 1
Pole Positions: 1
Podium Finishes: 3
Career Highlights
1999: 11th All Japan Championship 125 cc (Honda)
2000: 2nd All Japan Championship 250 cc (Honda)
2001: 8th All Japan Championship 250 cc (Honda)
2002: 2nd All Japan Championship 250 cc (Honda)
2003: Champion All Japan Championship 250 cc (Honda)15th 250cc World Championship (Honda) (2GP wild card)
2004: 6th 250cc World Championship (Honda)
Hiroshi Aoyama, born in Chiba as the eldest of three brothers, set foot on a circuit for the first time at the age of five, to please his father, Nobol, a big motorbike fan, although he finally changed his toys for minibikes and started motorbike riding out of liking. He took part in several Japanese promotion cups and became Minibike Champion at the age of 15 and 16. He made his debut on Grand Prix bikes at the age of 17, combining the 125cc and 250cc class. The following year, in 1999, he joined the HRC family taking part in the All Japan Championship, in the 125cc class and then stepped up to the 250cc.
He became Japanese Champion in 2003 in the intermediate class and also took part in some races of the Road Racing World Championship as a wild card. He raced seven GPs as invited rider and surprised everybody with an excellent second place on the wet track of Suzuka and a fifth place in Motegi. Aoyama won the confidence of the factory to go beyond the Japanese frontiers and try his luck in the 2004 Road Racing Championship. Thus he arrived in the World Championship and raced the whole season together with his team-mate Dani Pedrosa, with whom he not only shares a garage but also a great friendship. Hiro, as he likes to be called, left his home and family in Japan to embark upon a new adventure that would open him the door to the competition on the highest level, and he did it with the status of a Honda rider. He not only adapted perfectly well to his new life in Barcelona, but also got on perfectly well with all members of his team to work as hard as possible.
He had to learn all the circuits step by step; they had nothing to do with those he had already raced on in his county, but his well-being was reflected in the competition and he became one of the big surprises of the year. He managed to step on the podium twice, two third places in Japan and Qatar, and finished the championship in a meritorious sixth position. His learning capacity and a major experience are his best qualities to face his second campaign in the quarter-of-a-litre class. Sharing team with Dani Pedrosa, the Japanese rider will with no doubt be one of the riders to let us enjoy on Sunday mornings in 2005.
