Aoyama: ‘Title is a dream come true’

In the final season of the 250cc category, Hiroshi Aoyama was crowned World Champion at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit on Sunday with a seventh-placed finish, and the Japanese rider realised a lifelong ambition in doing so.

Describing his triumph in the quarter-litre class as a ‘dream come true’, the 28 year-old will accomplish another on Monday when he begins testing a satellite Honda RC212V MotoGP machine ahead of his premier class debut season in 2010.

“I am very proud to win this title, especially as this is the last 250cc category, so it’s something special for me,” said Aoyama. “I have been racing in 250cc for nearly ten years, so I’m a little bit sad I can’t ride this bike any more but I am taking the next step. From tomorrow I will be in MotoGP and that’s also one of my dreams, so today one dream came true and tomorrow another one will.”

It was not an easy ride for the Scot Honda man, who recovered from a run-off to complete the race, with Marco Simoncelli’s crash sealing the title for him.

“It was a big moment in this race,” said Aoyama of the moment he left the track. “I wanted to win this race and I was pushing, but I was a little bit over the limit so I had to decide to crash or to go out. I decided to go out! When I got back on the track I wanted to see what position I was in, but my team didn’t show me on the first lap. On the second lap they showed me I was in eleventh position, so I knew if I made another mistake I might not recover, so I had to push and push and in the end I finished in seventh position.”

He continued, “When I saw Simoncelli crashing I realised I had won the title. I am so happy about that but it has been quite a difficult season. All the time my team has supported me, so that’s where I got the extra motivation and power from and I want to say thanks to everybody. I have been waiting for this day for 23 years. It’s incredible, especially after this race.”

Looking forward to life in the premier class, Aoyama added, “MotoGP is a completely new category for me and I don’t know what I’ll be able to do. I have a chance and I want to do my best at the highest level. It will be difficult but those are the best circumstances in which to try and improve in. That’s my target for next year.”