28 Facts About Shinichi Ito

Shinichi Ito has raced extensively in Japanese and International championships.

Shinichi Ito competed in the All-Japan 500 cc Championship on a Honda NSR500 from 1988 to 1992, always finishing inside the Top 7 and winning the title in 1990.

Shinichi Ito raced in the Suzuka 8 Hour for three of these years and had two 7th-place finishes in 1988 and 1991, partnered by Masumitsu Taguchi and Daryl Beattie respectively.

Shinichi Ito has competed in the 500 cc World Championships as an occasional wild card from 1989 to 1992.

Shinichi Ito showed impressive form, consistently finishing among the established Grand Prix riders.

Shinichi Ito's ability was rewarded in 1993 with a full-time ride from Honda in the 500 cc World Championship.

Shinichi Ito raced in the All-Japan 500 cc Championship where he finished 9th.

In 1994, Shinichi Ito continued to show impressive form in the 500s scoring points in 11 out of 14 races, 9 of which were top 5 placings.

Shinichi Ito again competed in the Suzuka 8 Hour where he qualified 2nd and finished 3rd on a Honda RC45, partnered by Shinya Takeishi.

In torrential rain, Shinichi Ito used his vast experience of the Suzuka Circuit and pulled out a commanding lead in the race.

Shinichi Ito visited the podium twice, his best finish was again 2nd, this time at the final round at Catalunya.

Shinichi Ito was however regularly bringing the new bike home in the points, scoring in 12 of the 15 races.

Shinichi Ito finished in 12th place in what was to be his last full season in the Championship.

Shinichi Ito returned to domestic racing, this time in the Japanese Superbike Championship on board a Honda RC45 and was one of the top riders in the series, winning the title in 1998 and finishing every other year in the Top five.

Shinichi Ito took his debut win at the Suzuka 8 Hour in 1997 partnered by Tohru Ukawa.

In 2000, Shinichi Ito was recruited by Kanemoto Racing, who had been contracted by the Bridgestone tyre company to conduct tyre testing for the company's foray into World Championship 500 cc racing.

Alongside fellow Japanese rider Nobuatsu Aoki, Shinichi Ito was responsible for the testing and development of Bridgestone tyres on Honda NSR500 machines.

Now one of the most experienced and respected top level development riders, Shinichi Ito was given a Honda RC211V for the inaugural round of the new four-stroke MotoGP series at Suzuka.

Shinichi Ito made another wild card appearance at the penultimate round in Australia, this time with the Kanemoto Racing team on an NSR500 two-stroke machine testing Bridgestone tyres.

Shinichi Ito returned to the Japanese Superbike Championship full-time and won the title in 2005 and 2006 on a Honda CBR1000RR.

Shinichi Ito won the race for the third time in 2006, partnered by Takeshi Tsujimura.

Shinichi Ito was still in demand at international level, and in 2005 was drafted in to ride a Ducati Desmosedici GP5 in a new Ducati-Bridgestone Tyre Test Team, which was specifically created for MotoGP tyre development.

Shinichi Ito took the seat, becoming the first Japanese rider to pilot the Ducati.

Shinichi Ito failed to enter the pits and was black-flagged from the race, and thence excluded from the results.

Shinichi Ito continued to work with the Ducati-Bridgestone Tyre Test Team during the off-season.

Shinichi Ito crashed during pre-season testing at Motegi and suffered a fractured thighbone, putting his 2007 season plans on hold.

Shinichi Ito was given a ride on a Pramac d'Antin Ducati in the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi following Alex Hofmann's release from the team.

Shinichi Ito, who came out of retirement that year to win the Suzuka 8 Hours and start the role as a HRC test rider, rode for a specially-formed HRC team at the age of 44.