Akira Ryō

(born October 20, 1967 in Hyōgo, Japan) is a Japanese motorcycle road racer and development rider. He was All-Japan Superbike champion in 2001. He was also runner-up in 1996 and third in 1999, part of a long run of top-10 series finishes. He finished 3rd in the Suzuka 8 Hours race in 1997, teamed with Shinja Takeishi. He and Keiichi Kitagawa came 2nd there in 2000. [ [http://www.silverbullet.co.nz/news.php?id=857 SilverBullet News - Suzuka 8 hour results ] ] As of 2006 he is a factory test rider for Suzuki. [ [http://atlasf1.autosport.com/2001/aut/preview/jones.html Atlas F1 Elsewhere in Racing: Updates from the Rest of the Racing World ] ]

Racing fans outside Japan will know him for his regular wild card entries into international championships, primarily in the Japanese rounds. In the Superbike World Championship he entered between SBK|1996 and SBK|2001, taking a win in the Japanese round in SBK|1999, as well as three further podiums. He was the main development rider for Suzuki's GSV-R MotoGP bike, and raced in several times in 2002 and 2003. He nearly caused a major upset at the 2002 Japanese Grand Prix by leading for much of the race, before finishing second to Valentino Rossi. [ [http://www.crash.net/news_View~t~Ryo-picks-up-two-wild-card-entries-~cid~6~id~77181.htm MOTOGP: Ryo picks up two wild-card entries., motorsport news, results, features, teams, drivers, updates ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.crash.net/driver_view~cid~6~did~763.htm Crash.net profile]