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Few other people in modern motorcycling have had a career quite like Masakazu Fujii's. The Japanese veteran's team has won World Championship Grand Prix races, from the 24 Hours of Le Mans to the Suzuka Eight Hours and the Endurance World Championship, while his motorcycles have won everything from GP races to Isle of Man TTs.
Most of Fujii's life has been lived with motorcycles, always Honda, because his father was friends with company founder Soichiro Honda, prompting a lifelong love of Honda machinery.
And yet he didn't fall in love with motorcycles immediately.
"The first time I rode one was with my dad," recalls Fujii, who is based in Barcelona, Spain. "I didn't like motorcycles at first, so it took time for me to like them and start racing. Then it didn't take long for me to start loving them. Now motorcycles are my life. I plan on living with motorcycles and exploring with them for the rest of my life!"
Fuji's father, Teruyoshi, played his part in Japan's motorcycle boom of the 1950s, kickstarted by the creation of Honda Motor Co, Ltd and other marques.
Soichiro Honda encouraged Fujii to move to Suzuka City, where Honda was building Japan's first racetrack, the Suzuka Circuit. Fujii established Technical Sports in 1963, the year after Suzuka opened. Masa took over the company in 1984 and still adheres to his father's philosophies today.
