HEY AARON, SHOULDN'T YOU BE OUT ON
THE WARM UP?
Kato Honored In Italy
The community of the Adriatic town of
Misano, and the Gresini Racing Team, chose
the new road that leads to the entrance of
the Misano Circuit as the street to bear the
name of the late Daijiro Kato. The 200 I
250cc World Cham pion was a reside nt of
Porto Verdi (Misano), close to the Gresini
Racing departm e nt, while racing in Europe.
T he comm emo ration cer em ony began
with the mayor of Misano, Sandro Tiraferri,
Fausto Gresinl and Kato 's fathe r, Takashi, cutting the ribbon to unveil the namep late of the
new stree t. The thr ee men the n planted a
che rry tree that Takashl Kato had brought
from Japan as a symbo l of the firm relationship betwee n Misano , its com munity, and
Suzuka.
Motosprint, one of Italy's leading mo torcycle magazines, remembered and honored
the 250cc World Cham pion by pres ent ing
Kato's father with the prestigious "Casco
d'Oro" award .
The world of motorsport was represented at the ce remo ny by many of Kato's team
members, friends, and forme r rivals. Colin
Edwards, the Texan who joined Gre sini
Racing for the 2004 season , Max Biaggi, and
Kato's close friend Makoto Tamada were in
attendance. Sete Gibernau, Kato's teammate,
was unable to be at the ceremony but sent a
message to the (amity in attendance.
Co lin Edwards : "I met and raced with
D aijiro
on
occasions at
the
Suzuka 8-hou rs. I have a very
good memory of Daijiro as a
rider
and
as
a
person.
Unfortunately, after this tragic
eve nt, it' s hard for his family to
move on. Th is ceremony has a
very special meaning to corn -
memo rate the Japanese rider, a
champion and a friend ."
Max Biaggi: "I really wa nted
to be her e this mo rning because
it's a very special moment that I
want to honor and comme morate. I'm here as a sports fan
more than a rider."
H onda was re presented at
the function by Mr. Ne gishi,
presid ent of Honda ltalia, Mr.
Tachikawa, HRC tea m manager,
Mr. lrie, general manager HRC
Euro pe, M r. Koinuma , responsible for FPS Project, and Carlo
Fioran i, HRC sport manager.
Gres ini thanked the Misano
administration for the possibility
of organizing this even t and Kate's family for
attending the ceremony. Takashi Kato
thanked the Misano community with the gift
of a Hon da scooter bearing Kato's racing
number 74 - a number that has been permanently retired from Grand Prix racing.
14 MAY 19, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS
"This ceremony has a very special
meaning to commemorate the Japanese
rider, a champion and a friend."
40th Anniversary
- Co lin Edwards
