Osamu Miyazaki (born 23 January 1966) is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the first full-time rider in the championship from Japan. After winning his first race in the All Japan Road Race Championship at age 26, Miyazaki joined Aprilia and moved to Italy in 1996 to compete in the Grand Prix. After riding with Aprilla for three seasons, he raced with Yamaha, and helped them with the development of the TZ 250 and YZF-R6. In 2002, he won the Japanese Grand Prix. He left the Grand Prix circuit in 2004 to race in the All Japan Road Race Championship, retiring after the 2011 season.

Osamu Miyazaki
Yamaha TZ250 similar to that which Miyazaki rode
NationalityJapanese
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years1991 - 2002
First race1991 250cc Japanese Grand Prix
Last race2002 250cc Japanese Grand Prix
First win2002 250cc Japanese Grand Prix
Team(s)Aprilia, Yamaha
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
47 1 1 0 1 129

Motorcycling career

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Miyazaki started racing when he was 23, when he entered the All Japan Road Race Championship riding 250 cc motorcycles, and won his first race in the championship three seasons later.[1] At that time, he migrated to the Grand Prix, initially competing in the 1991 Japanese race. He subsequently entered the race the following year, coming thirteenth overall. Following this success, he joined the Italian Aprilia team, which at the time was not well known in Japan. He achieved his first points in 1995.[2] He moved to Italy to race in the Grand Prix professionally, the second Japanese rider at the Championships and the first Japanese contender to participate full-time.[1][2]

He achieved his first win at the 2002 Japanese motorcycle Grand Prix at Suzuka while racing with Motorex Daytona Yamaha.[3] He started at eighth place and finishing almost ten seconds ahead of the next competitor.[4] He entered as a Japanese wildcard.[5]

In 2004, he moved to racing 600 cc motorcycles in the All Japan Road Race Championships. After four years, he had achieved second place at the end of the season.[1] He started his own team in 2008 and took pole position the following year in the third round at Autopolis, but suffered a serious injury at the end of the season.[6][7] He subsequently raced in 2010 and 2011, retiring shortly afterwards.[8]

Legacy

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Miyazaki was involved in the development of the Yamaha TZ 250 and Yamaha YZF-R6.[1] He worked with Dunlop Tyres in tyre R&D in 2004 and coached Chinese competitors in 2009.[2]

Career statistics

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Grand Prix motorcycle racing

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Races by year

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(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Pos Pts Ref
1991 250cc Yamaha JPN
16
AUS
USA
SPA
ITA
GER
AUT
EUR
NED
FRA
GBR
RSM
CZE
VDM
MAL
- 0 [9]
1992 250cc Yamaha JPN
24
AUS
MAL
SPA
ITA
EUR
GER
NED
HUN
FRA
GBR
BRA
RSA
- 0 [9]
1993 250cc Aprilia AUS
MAL
JPN
Ret
SPA
AUT
GER
NED
EUR
RSM
GBR
CZE
ITA
USA
FIM
- 0 [9]
1995 250cc Aprilia AUS
MAL
JPN
6
SPA
GER
ITA
NED
FRA
GBR
CZE
BRA
ARG
EUR
24th 10 [9]
1996 250cc Aprilia MAL
15
INA
Ret
JPN
13
SPA
15
ITA
20
FRA
Ret
NED
8
GER
12
GBR
12
AUT
Ret
CZE
Ret
IMO
16
CAT
15
BRA
Ret
AUS
NC
20th 22 [9]
1997 250cc Yamaha MAL
11
JPN
Ret
SPA
12
ITA
15
AUT
Ret
FRA
10
NED
8
IMO
9
GER
18
BRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
CZE
14
CAT
10
INA
13
AUS
11
13th 47 [9]
1998 250cc Yamaha JPN
14
MAL
15
SPA
10
ITA
Ret
FRA
Ret
MAD
NED
NC
GBR
GER
CZE
18
IMO
18
CAT
14
AUS
15
ARG
14
24th 14 [9]
2000 250cc Yamaha RSA
MAL
JPN
8
SPA
FRA
ITA
CAT
NED
GBR
GER
CZE
POR
VAL
BRA
PAC
DSQ
AUS
27th 8 [9]
2001 250cc Yamaha JPN
RSA
SPA
FRA
ITA
CAT
NED
GBR
GER
CZE
POR
VAL
PAC
13
AUS
MAL
BRA
29th 3 [9]
2002 250cc Yamaha JPN
1
RSA
SPA
FRA
ITA
CAT
NED
GBR
GER
CZE
POR
BRA
PAC
MAL
AUS
VAL
16th 25 [9]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Osamu Miyazaki". Speed of Japan. 2018. Archived from the original on 28 July 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Profile". miyazaki72 (in Japanese). 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  3. ^ "Miyazaki wins 250 race full of late developments". MotoGP. 7 April 2002. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Miyazaki wins 250cc race for Yamaha". crash.net. 7 April 2002. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  5. ^ "Miyazaki and Sakai keep up the tradition of wildcard Japanese success". MotoGP. 4 April 2002. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  6. ^ 文部科学大臣杯 2009年MFJ全日本ロードレース選手権シリーズ第3戦 [Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Cup 2009 MFJ All Japan Road Race Championship Series Round 3]. miyazaki72 (in Japanese). 2009. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Osamu Miyazaki signs with Ito Racing". Speed of Japan. 2 March 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Race Results". miyazaki72. 2011. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "MotoGP Riders: Osama Miyazaki". motogp.com. Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 30 December 2022.