Norick Abe dies in road accident

Abe is reported to have collided with a truck, while riding a
motorcycle near the city of Kawasaki, after it made an 'illegal' U-
turn in front of him.

Abe was one of Japan's most celebrated racing heroes, having
burst on the scene by battling for victory as a Honda wild-card in
the 1994 500cc Japanese Grand Prix. Abe fell three corners from
the finish, but had done enough to earn a full time ride with
Kenny Roberts' factory Yamaha team for the following season.

The 19-year-old took his first 500GP podium at Suzuka in 1995,
but it was at Suzuka '96 that Abe etched his name firmly in the
record books - by becoming the first home rider to win the 500cc
Japanese GP, and turning him into a national hero overnight.

"I can remember everything about that race," recalled Abe,
speaking in 2005. "It was my second season with Yamaha and I
had been very fast in pre-season. The first two races of the year
were in Malaysia and Indonesia, but they both went very badly
for me, worse than they had done in my debut season in '95. The
third round was my home grand prix at Suzuka and there was so
much pressure on me to do well, it was unbelievable.

"In practice and qualifying I was no good and by the time the
race came around the pressure had built up so much that I
couldn't even think about what I was doing. In the end it worked
in my favour because I just went out and raced as hard as I
could. Everything came really easily and I was so fast, it was a bit
of a surprise! I finished over six-seconds ahead of [future world
champion] Alex Crivillé... I couldn't believe it really.

"I remember the next day the interest from the press, television
stations and the fans was amazing. More importantly, people
within the sport started taking me seriously. Some people weren't
so sure that I had the talent to win races but after Suzuka '96
they started to look at me differently and trust in my ability. That
race changed my life," declared Norick, who switched to Wayne
Rainey's Yamaha team for 1997 and 1998, before becoming a
d'Antin Yamaha rider from 1999 to 2002.

Abe claimed 17 podium finishes during his grand prix career, with
a best championship position of fifth (1996), but struggled to
convert his raw 500cc pace into the new 990cc four-stroke era
that arrived in 2002. full story on uk.eurosport.yahoo.com
photos - norickabe.com
Norick Abe at the 2007 All Japan JSB1000 Championship Round 1 at
Sugo in April and at the 2007 8 hours of Suzuka in Jully.