was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

professional

motorcycle racer The motorcycle sport of racing (also called moto racing and motorbike racing) includes motorcycle road racing and off-road racing, both either on circuits or open courses, and track racing. Other categories include hill climbs, drag racing and ...

and motorcycle racing team manager. He competed in the Grand Prix motorcycle

road racing Road racing is a North American term to describe motorsport racing held on a paved road surface. The races can be held on a race track, closed circuit—generally, a purpose-built racing facility—or on a street circuit that uses temporarily c ...

world championships from

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. He dominated Japanese

in the early 1970s and was the first Japanese rider to win a world championship 500cc Grand Prix race. Although Kanaya was a competitive racer, he was never allowed to compete in a full season in the world championships as, his main responsibility was as a test rider in Japan.

Motorcycle racing career

Born in

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, Japan, Kanaya first rose to prominence as a Kawasaki rider when, he finished in third place behind

Bill Ivy William David Ivy (27 August 1942 – 12 July 1969) was an English professional Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racer from Maidstone, Kent. He died during practice for a race in East Germany. The early years Ivy started ra ...

and Stuart Graham at the 1967 125cc Japanese Grand Prix. In 1969 he won the 250cc class of the

All Japan Road Race Championship The is the premiere motorcycle road racing championship in Japan. It is run by the Motorcycle Federation of Japan (MFJ) (日本モーターサイクルスポーツ協会) – the Japanese affiliate of the FIM. History The MFJ was formed in 1 ...

riding a Kawasaki. Kanaya became a member of the Yamaha factory racing team in 1970 and, in 1971 he won the 90cc class as well as the open class of the All Japan Road Race Championship. In

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

Yamaha sent Kanaya to Europe to compete in the 250cc and 350cc classes of the Grand Prix road racing world championships. At the season-opening 250cc

German Grand Prix The German Grand Prix () was a motor race that took place most years since 1926, with 75 races having been held. The race has been held at only three venues throughout its history: the Nürburgring in Rhineland-Palatinate, Hockenheimring in B ...

held at the challenging, long

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

race track, Kanaya surprised his opposition by winning his first 250cc Grand Prix race on a standard Yamaha 250 TD3. He scored three more

podium A podium (: podiums or podia) is a platform used to raise something to a short distance above its surroundings. In architecture a building can rest on a large podium. Podiums can also be used to raise people, for instance the conductor of a ...

results in 1972 to finish the season ranked 11th in the 250cc class and 8th in the 350cc class. In his sole 500cc class appearance of 1972, he scored a 4th place result at the Belgian Grand Prix. For the

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

season, Yamaha promoted Kanaya alongside 1972 250cc world champion Jarno Saarinen to compete on the newly developed four-cylinder,

two-stroke A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes of the piston, one up and one down, in one revolution of the crankshaft in contrast to a four-stroke engine which re ...

YZR500 0W20 in the premier 500cc class. They would also compete in the 250cc class on a water cooled YZR250 0W17. Kanaya began the season with three consecutive second place results behind his teammate Saarinen in the 250cc class and, second and third place finishes in the 500cc class however, after Saarinen was tragically killed while competing in the fourth round of the championship at the

Monza Circuit The Monza Circuit (Italian language, Italian: ; ) is a race track near the city of Monza, north of Milan, in Italy. Built in 1922, it was the world's third purpose-built motor racing circuit after Brooklands and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, In ...

, Yamaha made the decision to withdraw its team for the remainder of the 1973 season and, Kanaya was sent back to Japan to resume his duties as a test rider. He was due to return to the world championships for the

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

season as a teammate for multi-time world champion

Giacomo Agostini Giacomo Agostini (; born 16 June 1942) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and racing team manager. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from 1963 to 1977, most prominently as a member of ...

however, Kanaya suffered serious injuries while competing in the pre-season

Daytona 200 The Daytona 200 is an annual motorcycle road racing competition held in early spring at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida. The race was founded in 1937 when it was sanctioned by the American Mo ...

motorcycle race and, he was forced to miss the 1974 world championships as he recovered from his injuries. In his first race back after recovering from his injuries at the season opening 1975 500cc French Grand Prix, Kanaya finished in an impressive second place, just 0.5 seconds behind his teammate Agostini. At the third round of the world championship held at the fast

Salzburgring The Salzburgring is a motorsport race track located in Plainfeld, east of Salzburg. Key facts Track Length Bends 15 Straights ...

circuit, he scored an impressive double victory by winning the 350cc and 500cc classes of the Austrian Grand Prix, becoming the first Japanese rider to win either class. After a third place finish at the fifth race of the season in Italy, Yamaha ordered Kanaya to return to Japan to continue his test riding duties. Despite only scoring points in four races, he still finished the 1975 season ranked third in the 500cc world championship final standings behind Giacomo Agostini and

MV Agusta MV Agusta (, full name: MV AGUSTA Motor S.p.A., original name: Meccanica Verghera Agusta or MV) is an Italian high end motorcycle manufacturer. It was founded by Domenico Agusta, Count Domenico Agusta on 19 January 1945 as one of the branches of ...

Phil Read Phillip William Read, (1 January 1939 – 6 October 2022) was an English professional motorcycle racer. He competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1961 to 1976. Read is notable for being the first competitor to win world championship ...

He also won the

Macau Grand Prix The Macau Grand Prix (; ) is an annual motorsport road racing event for automobiles and motorcycles held on the Guia Circuit in Macau. The event includes the Formula Regional and Motorcycle Grand Prix title races, with other races for Touri ...

in 1975. At the Suzuka round of the 1975 All Japan Championship, Kanaya shattered the existing lap record of 2 minutes, 20 seconds when he accomplished a lap time of 2:16.2. In 1976, Kanaya returned to compete in the Daytona 200 where, he qualified on the front row as the third fastest rider behind Kenny Roberts and Steve Baker. He finished the race in 7th place after his motorcycle developed tire wear problems which, forced him to make a pit stop for a tire change. Kanaya retired from racing in 1982 after competing in the TBC Big Road Race. In Japan, Kanaya continued to perform development work on Yamaha Grand Prix and production class race bikes. He died on December 19, 2013, at the age of 68.

Grand Prix motorcycle racing results

Source: Points system from 1950 to 1968: Points system from 1969 onwards: ( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanaya, Hideo Japanese motorcycle racers Sportspeople from Kobe 125cc World Championship riders 250cc World Championship riders 350cc World Championship riders 500cc World Championship riders 1945 births 2013 deaths