HIROSHI AOYAMA

Hiroshi Aoyama born October 25, 1981 in Ichihara, Chiba) is a Japanese Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He is the older brother of former 250cc and World Superbike rider, Shuhei Aoyama. He first raced in MiniMoto at the age of 4, racing against Yuki Takahashi, who he has raced against for most of his career. In 2008 he referred to Takahashi as a "respected rival".

He rode in the All-Japan Road Racing Championship until 2003, when he won the 250cc championship with Honda. He also rode a couple of events as wildcard rider in the Grand Prix World Championships, finishing 2nd in the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka.

n 2004 he joined the 250cc World Championship full-time, still racing for Honda. His debut season gave him two third places and 6th place in the championship. In the following year he scored his maiden victory in his home race at Motegi.

However, he wasn't able to stay on at Honda, so he moved to KTM for 2006 season. He brought them victories in Istanbul and Motegi, the first two for the manufacturer in the class. For the second year in row, he was 4th in overall standings.

Aoyama ended the 2007 season in sixth place in the 250 championship with victories in Germany and Malaysia. He remained with KTM for the 2008 season and finished the season in seventh place with two second-place finishes.

After KTM withdrawal from 250cc class, Aoyama returned to Honda with Team Scot replacing his rival Yuki Takahashi who has moved up to MotoGP class.

Hiroshi Aoyama debuted in the Championship in 2004 after securing the national 250cc Japanese title the previous year and having made several wildcard appearances over the previous four seasons. He made a big impression on his last two wildcard appearances in particular, taking second and fifth at Suzuka and Motegi respectively in 2003. The following season allowed him to discover the World Championship venues alongside Dani Pedrosa, and he finished sixth overall. Riding for Red Bull KTM 250 team since the start of 2006, he was in the running for third place in the championship last season before a crash in Valencia. Aoyama has won several races in the past seasons and ended the 2008 Championship in 7th.

NFORMATIONS:
Date of birth: 25/Oct/1981
Birthplace: Ichihara-shi - Chiba (Japan)
Weight: 55 Kg
Height: 165 cm

Number: 4

CAREER

2008 7th 250cc World Championship KTM
2007 6th 250cc World Championship KTM
2006 4th 250cc World Championship KTM
2005 4th 250cc World Championship HONDA
2004 6th 250cc World Championship HONDA
2003 wild card - 250cc World Championship HONDA
2000/2003 250cc All Japan Championship
1999125cc All Japan Championship
1998 Tsukuba Championship and Tsukuba Production Class
1996/1997 Kanto District Minibike Championship
1995 Minibike
1987 Poketbike