Number 7 for Aoyama in MotoGP in honour of Kato

Monday, 4 January 2010

Until now the Japanese rider has raced wearing the number 4, but in his first season in the premier class in 2010 will adopt number 7 as he continues his tribute to his compatriot Daijiro Kato.

Hiroshi Aoyama will ride using the number 7 in his debut season in MotoGP this year; in further homage to fellow Japanese rider Daijiro Kato.

“My favourite number is the 74 of Kato. This year I used 4, a part of that number,” explained Aoyama. Andrea Dovizioso of the Repsol Honda team already uses the number 4 in the premier class, which means Aoyama has had to change his. “From now on I’ll use 7, the other part of Kato’s number.” The number 74 was retired after the tragic death of the Japanese rider in 2003.

Aoyama took the 250cc World Championship title in the last year of the category – his sixth season in the quarter-litre class – in 2009 and is aiming to repeat his success in MotoGP with the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team in 2010.