, or was a Japanese professional motorcycle road racer. He competed in the FIM Grand Prix motorcycle racing world championships from to . Abe died in a road traffic crash in October 2007.

Career Abe was born to , a paved flat track rider, in Tokyo. When he was eleven, Abe began racing minibikes and spent his earlier career competing in motocross. He turned to road racing when he was fifteen and also competed in the United States. In 1992, Abe was the runner up in the 250 cc category for the domestic National A championship.Norifumi Abe profile at www.f1network.net The following year at the All Japan Road Race Championship, Abe won the 500 cc title in the category's final year and became the youngest title winner.

In 1994, while racing in his home championship, Abe had a chance to race at the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix as a "wild card". He shocked the field by challenging for the win until three laps from the finish before falling off. Abe's performance impressed Kenny Roberts's Yamaha team, and was offered two more rides that year which yielded two sixth places and earned him a full-time Grand Prix ride for the 1995 season. This performance also so impressed a 14-year-old Valentino Rossi, that he took on the nickname "Rossifumi" and used it in his early career in deference to such a committed and spectacular racer.

Abe took his first podium finish in 1995, and his first win and fifth overall in the championship a year later. His team in 1997 was run by another former champion, Wayne Rainey, and Abe took regular points finishes over the next two seasons, including four podiums. He joined the d'Antin Antena 3 team in 1999, won at Rio de Janeiro that year, and won again at Suzuka a year later. Abe spent two seasons on less competitive machinery, yet his race results ensured his 100% record of top 10 championship finishes continued.

However, 2002 was the first year of MotoGP regulations, and Abe did not get on well with the four-stroke machinery. As such, when D'Antin switched over to the Yamaha YZR-M1 for 2003, Abe left the team and acted as a factory test rider and occasional wild card racer for Yamaha. He got another chance on the Tech3 Yamaha team for 2004, but was unsuccessful, and was moved to Yamaha's returning Superbike World Championship squad for 2005. He continued to race there in 2006 but failed to score a podium in both seasons.Norifume Abe World Superbike career statistics at worldsbk.com

In 2007, Abe competed in the All Japan Superbike Championship, again on a Yamaha.

Death On October 7, 2007, while riding a 500 cc Yamaha T-Max scooter in Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Abe was involved in a traffic crash with a truck, which made an illegal U-turn in front of him, at 6:20 p.m. local time. He was pronounced dead two and a half hours later, at 8:50 p.m., at the hospital where he was taken for treatment.

Personal life Abe's son Maiki is also a motorcycle racer who competes in the All Japan Road Race Championship. He attended the Yamaha VR46 Mastercamp training at Valentino Rossi's ranch in Tavullia, Italy, accompanied by his grandfather Mitsuo. In 2023, his son joined VFT Racing Yamaha to compete in the Supersport World Championship.

Career statistics Source: Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Points 25 20 16 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Grand Prix motorcycle racing Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Team Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Pos Pts1994500cc Mister Yumcha Blue Fox Honda NSR500 AUS MAL JPN Ret ESP AUT GER NED ITA FRA 17th20 Roberts Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 GBR DNS CZE 6 USA 6 ARG EUR 1995 500cc Roberts Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 AUS 9 MAL Ret JPN 9 ESP 4 GER 8 ITA 6 NED 6 FRA Ret GBR 18 CZE Ret BRA 3 ARG 6 EUR Ret 9th 81 1996 500cc Roberts Marlboro Yamaha YZR500 MAL 8 INA 9 JPN 1 ESP Ret ITA 11 FRA 4 NED 6 GER 6 GBR 3 AUT 3 CZE 11 IMO 5 CAT 10 BRA 3 AUS Ret 5th 148 1997 500cc Yamaha Team Rainey YZR500 MAL 8 JPN 7 ESP 7 ITA 7 AUT 9 FRA 7 NED 10 IMO 7 GER Ret BRA 5 GBR 9 CZE 5 CAT 12 INA 5 AUS 3 7th 126 1998 500cc Yamaha Team Rainey YZR500 JPN 14 MAL Ret ESP 6 ITA 6 FRA 7 MAD 2 NED Ret GBR 3 GER Ret CZE 5 IMO 6 CAT 3 AUS 5 ARG 4 6th 128 1999 500cc d'Antin Antena 3 Yamaha YZR500 MAL Ret JPN 3 ESP 5 FRA 6 ITA Ret CAT Ret NED 6 GBR 6 GER 3 CZE Ret IMO 11 VAL 6 AUS 16 RSA 9 BRA 1 ARG 3 6th 136 2000 500cc d'Antin Antena 3 Yamaha YZR500 RSA 7 MAL 17 JPN 1 ESP Ret FRA 2 ITA 5 CAT 2 NED 10 GBR 6 GER 11 CZE Ret POR 9 VAL Ret BRA 4 PAC 5 AUS 6 8th 147 2001 500cc d'Antin Antena 3 Yamaha YZR500 JPN 4 RSA 5 ESP 2 FRA 4 ITA 9 CAT 6 NED Ret GBR Ret GER 4 CZE 4 POR Ret VAL 8 PAC 4 AUS 13 MAL 13 BRA 6 7th 1372002MotoGPd'Antin Antena 3 Yamaha YZR500 JPN 5 RSA 7 ESP 6 FRA 4 ITA 7 CAT 16 NED 9 GBR 4 GER 6 CZE 8 POR 7 BRA 6 PAC 8 MAL 10 6th129 YZR-M1 AUS DNS VAL 102003MotoGP Fortuna Yamaha YZR-M1 JPN 11 RSA 8 ESP VAL 916th31 Yamaha YZR-M1 FRA 11 ITA CAT NED GBR GER 10 CZE POR BRA PAC MAL AUS 2004 MotoGP Fortuna Gauloises Yamaha Tech3 YZR-M1 RSA 9 ESP 11 FRA Ret ITA 7 CAT 9 NED 11 BRA 8 GER Ret GBR Ret CZE 8 POR 10 JPN Ret QAT 7 MAL 12 AUS 17 VAL 10 13th 74

References

External links

NorickAbe.com - Official site Norick Abe at the F1 Network Norick Abe's funeral images at SuperbikePlanet.com