Fumio Ito

Fumio Ito (伊藤 史朗, Itō Fumio, 10 October 1939 – 10 March 1991) was a Japanese professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. Ito began his Grand Prix career in 1960, although he was a Factory Yamaha rider as far back as 1957 ^[1] where the Yamaha YD-A & YD-B 250cc machines were so devastating in the Asama highlands race, where Yamaha took the first 3 places with Matsuko on a YD-A taking the honors. Ito himself could have easily won the race and had set the fastest lap, but his YD-A motorcycle seized and cost him the race. The machines were later modified for the 1958 Catalina GP in States with smaller fuel tanks taken from the YA 125 machines, high pipes and high footpegs. Ito was the Star rider of the team and the only Japanese rider alongside four local American riders. Ito finished 6th, even after an unscheduled pit stop for a fouled plug. He enjoyed his best season in 1963 when he won the 250cc Belgian Grand Prix and finished the season in third place in the 250cc world championship, behind Jim Redman and Tarquinio Provini.^[2]

Fumio Ito
Nationality	Japanese
Born	(1939-10-10)10 October 1939
Died	10 March 1991(1991-03-10) (aged 51)
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1960 - 1961, 1963 First race 1960 500cc French Grand Prix Last race 1963 250cc Japanese Grand Prix First win 1963 250cc Belgian Grand Prix Last win 1963 250cc Belgian Grand Prix Team(s) Yamaha Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 9 1 4 0 2 34

Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Position	1	2	3	4	5	6
Points	8	6	4	3	2	1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Class	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Points	Rank	Wins
1960	500cc	BMW	FRA 6	IOM -	NED 10	BEL 10	GER -	ULS -	NAT -					1	15th	0
1961	125cc	Yamaha	ESP -	GER -	FRA -	IOM 11	NED -	BEL -	DDR -	ULS -	NAT -	SWE -	ARG -	0	-	0
	250cc	Yamaha	ESP -	GER -	FRA -	IOM 6	NED 6	BEL 5	DDR -	ULS -	NAT -	SWE -	ARG 4	7	9th	0
1963	250cc	Yamaha	ESP -	GER -	IOM 2	NED 2	BEL 1	ULS -	DDR -	NAT -	ARG -	JPN 2		26	3rd	1

References

1. "YD Racer - Racing Information | Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd".
2. Fumio Ito career statistics at MotoGP.com