Abe does things naturally that surprise everyone," said Yoshinobu Miyamoto, former Yamaha public relations manager.

Norifumi Abe, a.k.a. Norick, dreamed of becoming a professional rider and honed his skills at Circuit Akigase before venturing off to train in the United States. He became the youngest ever All-Japan Road Race Champion and made his debut in the World Road Race Championship, aiming to become the champion in the highest class.Always looking forward, he opened up his life as a rider with his face up, and his overwhelming aura and dazzling smile won the hearts of his fans.From Norick's childhood, to his friends at Circuit Akigase, to the All Japan Road Race and World Road Race Championships, the people he met at each of the places where he worked so hard to make a difference in the lives of others have shared their memories of him.

'Miyamoto-kun, there are some amazing riders out there.

I joined Yamaha in 1985, and until about 1991, I was a salesman in charge of route sales operations for motorcycle stores at a sales office in Katsushika-ku, Tokyo.One of the stores I was in charge of was "Sports Shop ISHII. Even before I joined the company, it was a prestigious Yamaha racing store in the Kanto area along with "SP Tadao." If SP Tadao was good at training riders, I had the impression that ISHII was good at developing machines in addition to training riders.The head of the ISHII sports store said to me, "Mr. Miyamoto, wehave a great rider. His slide is amazing, and he is on a different level from the previous riders. I can feel his talent. I heard that at that time. That rider was Norifumi Abe, riding a yellow and black TZ250.At the time, I was being transferred to the Tokyo Headquarters, so I did not have a chance to meet him, but I thought that if he was riding for ISHII, he would eventually make his mark.Later, I became in charge of race promotion at Yamaha's Tokyo Headquarters, and I had the opportunity to watch him race in 1993. He was competing in the 500cc All-Japan Championships on a Honda NSR500 from Team Blue Fox, and I thought, "What? I thought, "Why isn't it Yamaha? I thought. He won the championship that year, and I realized that it was true that he was a great rider.Later,when I started working on the market introduction of racing karts with a transmission thatused the engine from the YZ80 motocross machine, I went to the Akigase circuit in Saitama Prefecture, the home of Satoshi Motoyama, a famous 4-wheel racer and a mecca for kart and mini bike racing. It is a famous circuit as a mecca for karting and mini bike racing.I heard that Abe, Daijiro Kato, and Motoyama-san used to ride their motorcycles here when they were still unknown. I was deeply moved to learn that they stayed at each other's houses, practiced together, and were friends who engaged in friendly competition, and that Circuit Akigase was an important place where young talent grew up.

Overwhelming Aura and Presence

In 1999, I was transferred to the Public Relations and Advertising Department at the headquarters of Yamaha Motor Co. and finally began working with Abe, who was an active GP rider for Yamaha. From the moment I met him, he had an overwhelming aura or presence.He really helped me a lot with Yamaha's PR. One of the events that left a lasting impression on me was in 2005, when Fuji Speedway was undergoing a management change to a new Toyota-affiliated company.I hadAbedrive theYZR-Ⅿ1 in the special red and white colors that commemorated the 50th anniversary of Yamaha Motor's founding,along with an F1 machine on the same track. I loved being flashy.Oh yes, in 2004,an event formotorcycle magazineswas held at the Yamaha test track, and I asked Abe to give a demonstration ride on the latest YZF-R1.He had ridden the newly released R1 without any prior testing, and at the start of the race, he pointed the front wheel high in the air in the pit lane and wheeled off at a full gallop. The scene drew a tremendous cheer of "whoa" from everyone on the test course.It was not something we specifically asked him to do; it was something that he came up with on his own, without any discussion with the media.He was a natural born star ....... He does things naturally that surprise everyone. We, the event organizers, were also surprised and when we saw the smiles and surprised faces of the audience, we thought to ourselves, "We are so glad we asked Abe to do this! We were so surprised and happy to see their smiling faces and surprised faces.Abe's popularity is also very high in the Asian region, and his appearance in a movie starring the Taiwanese idol group F4 (the four members of the hit TV drama "Meteor Garden," which aired in 2001) has made him even better known to the general public.At events such as races and shows in the Asian region, the enthusiasm and cheering of the fans who gathered there was different. Compared to other WGP riders, he was number one in terms of recognition and popularity.

Norick was pissed at me once, and the reason why.

The secret of his popularity was, of course, his speed and strength as a rider, but it was also probably due to his great fan service. He was sensitive to the feelings of his fans and gave them more service than they could think of.When asked for an autograph, he would not only do that, but also take pictures with them and talk to them. I think he knew exactly what to do to make the fans happy.From the perspective of a PR person responsible for Yamaha's PR, he was a reliable rider. The only drawback was that he was sometimes, or rather often... late for interviews and meetings (laughs). (Laughs.) He was angry with me once.It was in 2002, when Shinya Nakano was featured in a new model commercial for Toyota Corolla. He once said to me, "Why not you?The advertising agency later told me that Nakano's earnest and good-natured image matched the concept of the new Corolla. It was not that Nakano was chosen over Abe. If it had been a sports car type of vehicle, I am sure it would have been Abe, but I regret a little that I was not able to communicate this to him properly.I think he was aware and proud that he was the rider representing Yamaha. He was contributing that much to the team.... So maybe it was understandable for him to be angry.

October 7, 2007, that day was a Sunday.

In 2003, Daijiro Kato died in a racing accident. At that time, all Yamaha MotoGP riders gave a plate with their message to the destination in conjunction with a farewell party for Daijiro Kato.After Kato's racing accident, Abe was very worried about Kato, whom he had known since childhood and was like family to him. I remember that he was quite shocked when Kato passed away.In interviews, Abe often made strong statements, but at that time, he was very downcast and had few words.

A plaque given by Yamaha to the family of Daijiro Kato. It is inscribed with messages from six Yamaha MotoGP riders at the time: Alex Barros, Carlos Checa, Marco Melandri, Olivier Jacque, Shinya Nakano, and Norifumi Abe.

After finishing his MotoGP career in 2004, Abe competed in the Superbike World Championship in 2005, and in 2007 he will race in All-Japan, and he will also race in the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race, which we thought he would never race. He also participated in the Suzuka 8 Hours Endurance Race, which I thought he would never race.It was under such circumstances that the car accident in 2007 was unbelievable.It was a Sunday on October 7. I was at home drinking beer and watching TV when an announcer from NTV called me on my cell phone and asked, "The news department received a report of the accidental death of Norifumi Abe in Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture. He asked me if it was true.Surprised, I immediately contacted Mr. Mitsuo, Abe's father, to confirm whether it was true or not, but it seemed that it was during the auto racing season and the phone was completely disconnected.In the meantime, the news of Abe's accidental death came on the TV news in the middle of the night, along with a picture of a smiling Abe holding up the trophy from his victory at the Japanese GP Suzuka. Even so, I still thought to myself, "This must be a dream. I didn't want to believe it.Then Mitsuo contacted me and told me that he had passed away. ...... I could not stop crying.

Even I want to punch myself. But Mitsuo-san...

I went to Abe's home to offer my condolences. Lying there, Abe had bruises on his face, but he looked peaceful.Then the driver who caused the accident and his boss came to the scene and got down on their knees to apologize to the family. His wife is distraught, but Mitsuo calmly handles the situation and soothes her.I couldn't help but feel a sense of resentment similar to his wife's emotions, as even I was tempted to punch her. And yet, the father, Mitsuo-san, who lost his son, who was like his own alter ego, to the other driver's carelessness and violation of the traffic law, was suppressing his feelings with gusto. I cannot forget that image.From there, Yamaha had to immediately begin preparing for a farewell party for all concerned and fans. We were so busy thinking about the details of the event according to the date and location, sending out information, and asking Wayne Rainey and Valentino Rossi to deliver messages, that I have almost no memory of that period of time.Abe's death from a motorcycle accident, in which he suffered a severe chest injury, demonstrates to riders the importance of chest protection. After that accident, more riders started wearing chest protectors. It makes me sad again to think that he was thinking about this industry until the end.Almost 20 years have passed since Abe passed away.Still, when I think of events for Yamaha fans and race fans, I suddenly think, "If only Abe had been here...".That is how big a presence he was to Yamaha and to the Japanese racing world.Image Gallery (1)