Erv Kanemoto

Erv Kanemoto ( born May 7, 1943 in Utah ) is a former technician and team owner in the Motorcycle World Championship.

Life

As the son of a farmer Kanemoto came through the maintenance of the machines early with technology in contact. As a teenager, he was working on karts with which his sister raced. Early 20s, he worked first with motorcycles, as the company where he worked, went on strike and he helped out while in the workshop of a friend. He showed talent and was used to increase the performance of racing motorcycles. Kanemoto quickly made a name for himself as a tuner in the racing scene. He was hired by Kawasaki as a racing mechanic in 1968.

American Racing

In the early 1970s founded Kanemoto his own race team and put Kawasaki in national championships. From 1973 to 1979 formed Kanemoto and the driver Gary Nixon a successful team with a title in the U.S. National Road Racing Championship.

Following the resignation of Gary Nixon's 1979 Kanemoto joined as a technician to the emerging Freddie Spencer, who won in 1978 with a set up by Kanemoto Yamaha AMA Grand Prix championship in the class up to 250 cc.

Motorcycle Championships

While Spencer in 1981 took for Honda in the U.S. Superbike Championship, it drew Kanemoto in the Motorcycle World Championship, where he initially worked as a mechanic for the former world champion Barry Sheene at the Yamaha factory team. When Spencer in 1982 joined the World Championship, Honda Kanemoto brought into the team. Kanemoto became the Technical Director with Spencer three world titles ( 500 cc 1983, 250 cc and 500 cc 1985).

Kanemoto was until 1988 when Honda's factory team HRC, before founding his own team - Kanemoto Racing - founded and more titles with Eddie Lawson ( 500 cc 1989), Luca Cadalora (250 cc in 1991 and 1992 ) and Max Biaggi (250 cc 1997) won. He also worked with riders such as Wayne Gardner and Alex Barros.

End of the 1990 Sponsors search proved more difficult. Could find after the 1999 season, in the Kanemoto no contributors to his rider John Kocinski, he switched to Bridgestone to help in the development of a Grand Prix tire. In 2002, he set up a Bridgestone frosted machine with the driver Jurgen van den Goorbergh. After this season he retired from his job at the track and initially worked as a consultant for Suzuki, and later for Honda.

Honors

• Kanemoto 2001 was inducted into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.