Maiki Abe, son of the late 500cc/MotoGP legend Norick Abe, is set to race for the VFT World Supersport team in 2023.
An official announcement is yet to be made but - after running Kyle Smith, Johan Gimbert and Marc Alcoba alongside Marcel Brenner on Yamaha machinery this season - the VFT team’s Instagram account now lists its riders as: ‘Nicholas Spinelli and Maiki Abe’.
Maiki Abe has raced in the Japanese Supersport Championship, Asia Road Racing Championship and Suzuka 8 Hours (27th).
The 18-year-old (whose younger brother Keito also races) attended this year's Yamaha VR46 Master Camp, where he met Valentino Rossi. Norick had been 'a hero' for Rossi early in the Italian's racing career.
Norick Abe burst on the scene by battling for victory as a Honda wild-card in the 1994 500cc Japanese Grand Prix. Although he fell three laps from the finish, Abe had done enough to earn a full-time ride with Kenny Roberts' factory Yamaha team for the following season.
A 19-year-old Abe took his first 500GP podium at Suzuka in 1995, but it was Suzuka '96 that Abe etched his name in the record books as the first home rider to win the 500cc Japanese GP, turning him into a national hero overnight.
"I can remember everything about that race," recalled Abe in 2005. "It was my second season with Yamaha and I had been very fast in pre-season. The first two races of the year were in Malaysia and Indonesia, but they both went very badly for me, worse than they had done in my debut season in '95. The third round was my home grand prix at Suzuka and there was so much pressure on me to do well, it was unbelievable.
"In practice and qualifying I was no good and by the time the race came around the pressure had built up so much that I couldn't even think about what I was doing. In the end it worked in my favour because I just went out and raced as hard as I could. Everything came really easily and I was so fast, it was a bit of a surprise! I finished over six-seconds ahead of [future world champion] Alex Criville... I couldn't believe it really.
"I remember the next day the interest from the press, television stations and the fans was amazing. More importantly, people within the sport started taking me seriously. Some people weren't so sure that I had the talent to win races but after Suzuka '96 they started to look at me differently and trust in my ability. That race changed my life"
Abe took two further 500cc victories, at Rio in 1999 and Suzuka again in 2000.
Abe switched from Roberts to Wayne Rainey's Yamaha team for 1997 and 1998, then became a d'Antin Yamaha rider from 1999 to 2002. He claimed 17 podium finishes during his grand prix career, with a best championship position of fifth (1996).
