Tomoko Igata
NationalityJapanese
Born (1965-10-30) October 30, 1965
Motorcycle racing career statistics
MotoGP World Championship
Active years1992 - 1995
First Grand Prix1992 125cc Japanese Grand Prix
Last Grand Prix1995 125cc Catalan Grand Prix
ManufacturersHonda
Championships0
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
25 0 0 -

Tomoko Igata (井形とも子, born October 30, 1965) is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer.[1] She competed in the Grand Prix world championships from 1992 to 1995. Igata is notable for being the second full-time female rider after Taru Rinne, to compete in Grand Prix motorcycle racing history.[2] In 2016, Igata was named an FIM Legend for her pioneering Grand Prix racing career.[3]

Motorcycle racing career

Igata competed in the 125cc All Japan Road Race Championship from 1991 to 1993, finishing in the Top 10 every year.[4] Her best result was in 199q when she finished 6th in the Championship. In 1992 Igata made her Grand Prix debut at Suzuka as a wild card where she survived the treacherous wet track finishing 20th and capturing the attention of the media.

In 1994 she signed up for a full 125cc World Championship with the FCC Technical Sports team racing a Honda RS125. Igata immediately won two points at the first race in Australia and rode an impressive race in Suzuka, but was injured in a crash at the Austrian Grand Prix and was replaced by her teammate in Japanese championship Tomomi Manako.[1] She returned towards the end of season to finish 28th in the Championship.[1]

Igata again competed in the 1995 season and achieved a best place finish of 7th at the Czech Grand Prix after having also occupied the 5th place during the race; the highest placing for a female in the history of the Championship. She ended the season in 20th.[1]

Igata subsequently returned to Japanese racing in the 125cc class but without major success.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Tomoko Igata MotoGP statistics". motogp.com. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  2. ↑ "Female GP rider pussyfoots through 250 GP". iol.co.za. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  3. ↑ "FIM Legends". fim-awards.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  4. ↑ "All Japan Road Race Championship results". motoracing-japan.com. Archived from the original on September 11, 2007. Retrieved November 19, 2019.


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