Towards the end of 2006 Red Bull KTM announced that Japanese rider Tomoyoshi Koyama would be their big name rider in 125cc for the coming season, with the duo of Julian Simon and Mika Kallio making the move up to 250cc. It was Koyama’s opportunity to ride a competitive factory bike that he had been waiting for two seasons to receive. He burst onto the scene in 2005, winning the Rookie of the Year award and finishing eighth overall, but in 2006 he was plagued by injuries as he attempted to follow up that success.

In 2007 he repaid the faith placed in him by KTM, taking his first Grand Prix victory in Catalunya as part of a podium that also included team-mate Randy Krummenacher, and he added to his rostrum tally with second places in Great Britain, Germany and Malaysia – finishing the year third in the standings.

Koyama continued with KTM in 2008, as part of the ISPA KTM Aran outfit on equal standing with the factory team, but the campaign was a disappointment as he slipped down the rankings to 17th, without a single rostrum appearance. 2009 fared even worse for Tomoyoshi, with new team Loncin Racing; 7 DNFs and only one top-ten finish saw him slip even further down the rankings to 24th. The rider from Kanagawa aims to revive his fortunes with Racing Team Germany in 2010.