Japanese Superbike Champion Akira Ryō at Daytona (2000)

Akira Ryō during tire testing at Daytona in December of 2000. A Japanese racing champion, Ryō had some epic wildcard rides. He won a Superbike World Championship round at Sugo in 1999 when that series was at a peak. Then he almost pulled off what might have been one of the greatest upsets in MotoGP racing history. At Suzuka in 2002, Ryō, riding a Telefónica Movistar Suzuki, led Repsol Honda’s Valentino Rossi most of the race. With a few laps to go Rossi finally got around Ryō. The two battle for a couple of laps before Rossi pulled a small gap and won over Ryō by 1.55 seconds. (Henny Ray Abrams photo) 
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