Hideo Kanaya

Hideo Kanaya (1945 to 2013) was a Japanese professional motorcycle racer who later worked as a motorcycle racing team manager. Born in Kobe, he first drew attention as a Kawasaki rider with a third place in the 1967 125cc Japanese Grand Prix, won the 250cc class of the All Japan Road Race Championship in 1969 and joined the Yamaha factory team in 1970. Yamaha sent him to Europe in 1972, where he won the 250cc German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, and in 1975 he won the Austrian Grand Prix in both the 350cc and 500cc classes, becoming the first Japanese rider to win a world championship 500cc Grand Prix race. He finished third in the 1975 500cc world championship. He was never allowed a full world championship season because his main job was test riding for Yamaha in Japan. He retired from racing in 1982 and died on 19 December 2013 at the age of 68.