Iio-san was celebrated in retirement by several star Yamaha riders, including former World Champions Kenny Roberts, Wayne Rainey, Eddie Lawson, and Scott Russell, and Motocross legends Mike Bell and Jim Holley.
““Iio-san”, or as Kenny Roberts called him “Mr. 110%,” was instrumental in assisting the early racing careers of many riders and also helped to bring Scott Russell to Florida for his 1997 and 1998 wins at the Daytona 200 for Yamaha. Mr. Iio also spent many years during the late 80’s at Ohlins suspension company in Sweden working directly with Eddie Lawson and Wayne Rainey on suspension components for their YZR500’s,” a company statement reads, describing the way that Iio-san has influenced the history of Yamaha Racing.
The North American division of Yamaha has also presented Iio-san with an original painting depicting Yamaha’s double win of the Daytona 200 by Scott Russell and the Daytona Supercross by Jeremy McGrath.
Iio-san is not the only Yamaha executive to receive this kind of token of appreciation, as the former Yamaha Motors President, Takashi Kajikawa,has also received a specially commissioned painting from Yamaha back in October. The special painting features Valentino Rossi at the top of the famous corkscrew at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca during the inaugural MotoGP event at the facility in 2005.
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