When I was riding the All Japan GP250, I thought the WGP was still a distant world in a tube. It was around this time that I started to be aware of the world. I was still a pure motorcycle enthusiast when I turned 20. Up until then, I was just doing it because I enjoyed racing. I had been featured in a lot of media, but it wasn't until I signed with HRC that I realized that there was a profession in this world where I could make a living racing. I became aware of myself as a professional racer when I signed a contract with HRC as a works rider in the All Japan Superbike class in 1994 after turning 20 years old. People around me would say they couldn't believe I was doing this, but at the time I was training and I loved biking, so it didn't feel hard at all. The machines and equipment were kept at the team, so I could leave the house in the morning, pick up my machine, practice in the afternoon, and come home just in time. At that time, my team "TS Kanto" was just a stone's throw away from Tsukuba Circuit. During this period, I actually rode my bicycle from my hometown Haruna Village in Gunma Prefecture to Tsukuba Circuit to practice. I switched to a full-fledged racing machine such as the RS250 when I was a high school student at the age of 16, and at the age of 17 I was given a special promotion to International Class A, which allowed me to challenge the All Japan GP250 class. Photo courtesy of Young Machine Two consecutive victories in the All Japan Superbike in '95 and '96 to aim for the world (laughs) But that was a big catalyst for me to really enjoy bikes and racing, and it became so much fun that I entered my adolescence. I thought, "I'm going to win this race, I'm the fastest! But now that I think about it, I weigh about 30kg less than an adult, so it's no wonder I could run fast (laughs). At first, we mainly raced at the circuit in Nikko, which is no longer there, but eventually Haruna Motorsports Land was opened in our hometown and we continued to hone our skills there.Ībout three years later, I graduated from pocket bikes because of my size, and moved up to mini bikes, and when the NSR50 came out, I was allowed to race with the adults, and I won the race by a landslide! I guess this is where I got it all wrong. As we continued to race, our results improved. We were 4th, 5th, and 6th out of 6 entries in the so-called small children's first class race. How could it possibly go that well? At the time, Pokébike racing was in the midst of a boom, and was even being made into a manga. So my brothers and I went on to a glorious history from our debut. At that time, it was still a generous time when such things were allowed.Īt first we just had fun running them, but eventually we decided to try racing them. (laughs) Before we knew it, we had one of each of our brothers and sisters, and in the beginning we used to play with them in a large parking lot. He hid it in a warehouse or something before showing it to my brothers and me, but my three mischievous brothers and I found it on our own and started it up and tried riding it (lol). I think my dad got a pocket bike for some reason. Looking back on my involvement with motorcycles, I first rode a motorcycle when I was 8 years old. I am the second son of the three Aoki brothers who were active during the heyday of the motorcycle boom. I'm sure there are many riders of the Showa generation who may have missed me. The first race of my life, there were 6 entries and my brothers and I came in 4th, 5th and 6th (lol).
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