Red Bull.com

Hiroshi had already won the Japanese Championship when he burst onto the World Championship scene in 2003 by claiming second place as a wildcard entrant at the Japanese Grand Prix. That performance helped him earn a full-time spot at Telefonica Movistar Honda, and after two successful seasons with them, including his maiden victory on home soil at Motegi, he was picked up by the Red Bull KTM 250 team.

The Chiba-born rider earned KTM their first ever triumph in the quarter class category at the 2006 Turkish GP, and backed that up with his second successive victory in Japan to earn him legions of fans in his homeland. Hiroshi went on to bag two more victories and six podium finishes over the next two seasons before KTM pulled out of the 250CC class. Scott Racing moved quickly to snap up the star for the 2009 season and he hasn’t looked back since.

In that triumphant year, the Japanese rider took four wins, finishing on the podium seven times to beat the reigning 250cc world champion Marco Simoncelli to the title. His performance was enough to persuade the Interwetten Honda MotoGP Team to give Aoyama a seat in the premier class.

Keep up with Jonas at his personal website.