Norifumi Abe

Norifumi Abe, known as Norick Abe, was a Japanese professional motorcycle road racer, born in Tokyo on 7 September 1975. The son of a paved flat track rider, he began racing minibikes at eleven, competed in motocross and turned to road racing at fifteen. In 1993 he won the 500cc title at the All Japan Road Race Championship in the category's final year and became its youngest title winner. A wild card ride at the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix, where he challenged for the win until three laps from the finish, earned him a full-time Yamaha ride from 1995. He won his first Grand Prix in 1996, won again in 1999 and 2000, and competed in the world championships from 1994 to 2004. He died in a road traffic crash on 7 October 2007.