Moriwaki Engineering

Moriwaki Engineering is a Japanese manufacturer of speciality high performance products and motorcycle accessories.__TOC__

Company founder

Mamoru Moriwaki is a Japanese motorcycle tuner, race team owner and founder of Moriwaki Engineering, a Japanese specialty engineering company that designs, manufactures and sells high performance parts for motorcycles and cars.

His motorcycle industry career is closely intertwined with that of Pops Yoshimura, another respected motorcycle tuner.

Moriwaki began his career as a motorcycle racer for Hideo "Pops" Yoshimura, a respected motorcycle mechanic and tuner involved in Japanese motorcycle racing. Moriwaki received no formal training in engineering while working for Yoshimura. Instead, he became self-taught, learning about mechanical engineering from books borrowed from his local high school. Moriwaki married Namiko Yoshimura, Pops’ eldest daughter, while he was working for the company. While working for the Yoshimura racing team, Moriwaki also successfully competed in auto racing, driving a Yoshimura-prepared Honda S800 sports car to a class victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji endurance race on July 26, 1970, and the GTS1 Class at the 1971 Japan Grand Prix.

In 1971, Yoshimura made the decision to move his company to the United States to take advantage of the burgeoning American motorcycle market. Moriwaki did not agree with Yoshimura and refused to leave his home in Japan. This created a rift between the two men; however, within a year Yoshimura had returned to Japan and sought Moriwaki for help after he had been cheated out of all his money in a business transaction in America. Moriwaki loaned Yoshimura money to re-establish himself. Yoshimura would go on to establish one of the premier manufacturers of motorcycle high performance parts in the United States and became closely associated with the Suzuki racing program.

Moriwaki remained in Japan and in 1973 he founded Moriwaki Engineering in Suzuka City, Japan. He became known for modifying engines and constructing frames for the Kawasaki Z1. His bikes were successfully raced in the Australian Superbike championships in the late 1970s by New Zealander Graeme Crosby. Crosby and co-rider Tony Hatton finished in third place at the prestigious Suzuka 8 Hours endurance race in 1978. Moriwaki's reputation continued to be enhanced when Crosby and Akitaka Tomie qualified a Moriwaki Kawasaki on pole position at the 1979 Suzuka 8 Hours, ahead of all the major factory racing teams. At the 1980 Suzuka 8 Hours race, the Moriwaki team of Dave Aldana and David Emde qualified in a respectable second place ahead of the official Kawasaki factory-backed team of Eddie Lawson and Gregg Hansford.

After Crosby went on to race in the world championships, Moriwaki hired Australian rider Wayne Gardner in 1981. Also in 1981, Moriwaki developed the world's first aluminum frame for large capacity motorcycles and entered them in competitions. Gardner and John Pace qualified their Moriwaki Kawasaki on pole position at the 1981 Suzuka 8 Hours, once again beating all the major factory racing teams. Gardner then rode the Moriwaki Kawasaki to an impressive fourth-place finish at the 1981 Daytona Superbike race behind Yoshimura Suzuki riders Crosby, Wes Cooley and Honda's Freddie Spencer. Moriwaki and Gardner proceeded to compete in the British championship, winning their first race in England. Gardner entered the final race of the season with a chance to win the title but, an engine misfire relegated him to third place overall in the championship. Gardner's impressive results on the Moriwaki Kawasaki eventually earned him a contract with the Honda factory racing team and an eventual world championship in 1987.

In the 1980s, Moriwaki became closely associated with Honda Racing Corporation, the racing division for the Honda parent company. Moriwaki was the first outside firm allowed to use one of Honda's racing engines. From 2003 to 2005, Moriwaki competed in the premier MotoGP class with a Honda RC211V engine in a Moriwaki designed frame. The firm gained valuable knowledge from this experience and in 2010, a Moriwaki-framed machine run by Gresini Racing took the inaugural Moto2 title with rider Toni Elias.Moriwaki unveil latest Moto2 contender Motor Cycle News 24 April 2009. Retrieved 2015-07-21Latest evolution of Moriwaki MD600 Moto2 bike Motor Cycle News 2 September 2009. Retrieved 2015-07-21 On the MD600, Elias won 7 races with the bike and secured the championship with a fourth place at the Malaysian Grand Prix, held at Sepang.Toni Elias confirms Gresini Moto2 ride Motor Cycle News 18 January 2010. Retrieved 2015-07-21

The Moto2 formula is based on a universal engine and engine-ancillary equipment specification, with identical controlled engines supplied to teams via the organisers, previously based on the Honda CBR600RR superseded by the Triumph Street Triple RS 765 from the 2019 season. Fuel, oil brakes and tyres are also controlled. Teams are able to use any supplier of chassis, suspension and bodywork under strict regulations to enable no one team to dominate by technology or expenditure.Regulations - Moto2 defined - The Racing Rules Dunlop Motorsport, Retrieved 2015-07-21

Midori Moriwaki and World Superbikes In late 2018 at EICMA, it was announced that Moriwaki would join with Honda Racing Corporation to run the Honda Fireblade in World Superbikes during 2019 with riders Leon Camier and Ryuichi Kiyonari. Initially using Japanese Superbike race series specification as a base-setting, the team collaborated with Europe-based Althea Racing.Moriwaki Althea Honda Team Announces Team Structure Honda Global Racing, 17 February 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019WSB: Where are Honda? Motorcycle News, 28 January 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019 Previously Honda's alliance was with Ten Kate Racing,Honda unveils bike for factory World Superbike return Yahoo! Sport, 17 February 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019 but due to poor results Honda decided on full-factory backing with long-term partner in Japan motorsport Moriwaki Racing.Moriwaki Althea Honda Team officially launch their 2019 colours and team Honda Racing Corporation, 17 February 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019Fast Talk – Midori Moriwaki Australian Motorcycle News, 2 February 2019. Retrieved 7 April 2019 Previously Midori Moriwaki was Team Manager for KYB Moriwaki Motul Racing in Endurance events.KYB Moriwaki Motul Racing ends the 2018 Suzuka 8 Hours Race in 8th overall Moriwaki Engineering, 29 July 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2019

WSBK Results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Bike Tyres No. Riders 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Points Points Points R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 R1 SR R2 MIE Racing Honda Team SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR ITA ITA ITA GBR GBR GBR NED NED NED CZE CZE CZE SPA SPA SPA FRA FRA FRA SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR ARG ARG ARG INA INA INA 36 Leandro Mercado Ret 18 18 12 14 13 Ret 18 15 Ret 19 17 15 10 14 Ret C 15 8 11 11 16 16 15 9 C Ret 21st 33 13th 33 5th 250 52 Ret Ret Ret NC 0 MIE Racing Honda Team Honda CBR1000RR-R SPA SPA SPA NED NED NED POR POR POR ITA ITA ITA GBR GBR GBR CZE CZE CZE FRA FRA FRA SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR ARG ARG ARG INA INA INA AUS AUS AUS 27 Maximilian Scheib 20 21 21 NC 0 13th 13 5th 258 35 Hafizh Syahrin 21 22 20 20 22 17 19 16 19 17 13 Ret 17 19 20 Ret 15 12 20 17 19 WD WD WD Ret 23 19 13 15 14 15 12 17 23rd 10 36 Leandro Mercado 20 20 21 19 18 15 Ret 14 18 19 19 18 Ret 20 17 17 17 15 21 20 Ret 18 19 27 23 21 20 Ret 17 19 Ret 16 17 17 14 15 29th 3 Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team Honda CBR1000RR-R AUS AUS AUS INA INA INA NED NED NED SPA SPA SPA EMI EMI EMI GBR GBR GBR ITA ITA ITA CZE CZE CZE FRA FRA FRA SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR SPA SPA SPA 35 Hafizh Syahrin 15 19 17 16 17 15 19 18 14 14 16 Ret Ret 15 15 17 19 15 18 18 14 19 19 Ret 20 19 Ret 15 16 19 21st 11 13th 12 5th 205 20 Roberto Tamburini 18 21 18 NC 0 36 Leandro Mercado 17 20 21 NC 0 38 Hannes Soomer Ret 19 19 21 17 15 25th 1 51 Eric Granado 16 18 19 DNS 19 DNS 21 21 17 Ret DNS DNS 19 24 18 Ret 24 19 Ret 17 Ret Ret Ret 19 21 DNS DNS NC 0 88 Ryo Mizuno 21 19 Ret NC 0 Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team Honda CBR1000RR-R AUS AUS AUS SPA SPA SPA NED NED NED ITA ITA ITA GBR GBR GBR CZE CZE CZE POR POR POR FRA FRA FRA ITA ITA ITA SPA SPA SPA POR POR POR SPA SPA SPA 27 Adam Norrodin 20 20 19 20 Ret 18 17 Ret 20 20 21 Ret 20 21 Ret WD WD WD WD WD WD 29th 0 14th 9 5th 185 36 Leandro Mercado 20 19 17 31st 0 75 Ivo Lopes 19 22 20 Ret 19 19 19 22 20 15 20 15 20 23 18 27th 2 79 Hayden Gillim 21 20 18 34th 0 95 Tarran Mackenzie 19 Ret 18 16 20 17 14 17 11 Ret 18 19 Ret DNS DNS Ret 18 18 Ret 23 Ret 18 19 18 18 19 Ret 24 21 Ret 23rd 7 Petronas MIE Racing Honda Team Honda CBR1000RR-R AUS AUS AUS POR POR POR NED NED NED ITA ITA ITA CZE CZE CZE EMI EMI EMI GBR GBR GBR HUN HUN HUN FRA FRA FRA ARA ARA ARA POR POR POR SPA SPA SPA 95 Tarran Mackenzie 16 18 Ret 14 Ret 17 12 9 14 Ret Ret Ret DNS 21 Ret 16 Ret DNS 19th 9 (45) 14th 16 5th 229 53 Tito Rabat Ret 19 19 17 Ret 15 14 18 Ret 17 Ret 17 13 20 16 18 18 16 23rd 6 (9) 21 Zaqhwan Zaidi DNQ DNQ DNQ Ret 21 16 17 19 22 20 22 20 Ret 22 Ret 17 18 17 18 17 17 15 19 18 20 19 Ret 22 21 21 26th 1 75 Ivo Lopes Ret 20 20 18 17 Ret 32nd 0

World Supersport Results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team Bike Tyres No. Riders 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Points Points Points R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 Petronas MIE Honda Racing Team Honda CBR600RR AUS AUS POR POR NED NED ITA ITA CZE CZE EMI EMI GBR GBR HUN HUN FRA FRA ARA ARA EST EST SPA SPA 12 Luca Ottaviani 21 22 Ret 23 51st 0 16th 15 6th 100 27 Kaito Toba 14 9 27 Ret Ret Ret Ret 15 19 24 30 NC 16 20 Ret 14 Ret 22 22 Ret 19 21 15 14 25th 15 63 Syarifuddin Azman 17 19 Ret 25 DNS DNS 26 Ret 24 27 29 23 21 21 21 25 26 22 27 23 36th 0 67 Ibrahim Norrodin 24 Ret 30 28 57th 0

References

External links

Moriwaki Engineering