YOSHiHiROHAMAGUCHi

Yoshihiro Hamaguchi is a Japanese former professional road racer who now runs racing teams and produces character IP.

He entered the sport through a national television programme in 2001, then raced the Suzuka 8 Hours — Japan's biggest endurance event — for 13 consecutive years. In 2013 he brought the first Japanese anime-liveried motorcycle to Europe at the Le Mans 24 Hours, and retired from riding that same year.

Today he is Team Owner of HAMAGUCHI Racing Team and Co-owner of 3ART Best Of Bike Hamaguchi, contesting the full 2026 FIM Endurance World Championship. He is also the producer of Aoshima Megu, a character IP built from the diving culture of Japan's Ise-Shima region.

He runs two companies: MARIBON Co., Ltd. (character IP) and Mouthbeach Inc. (motorsport events).

Hamaguchi works across Japan and Europe as an owner, not as a guest. The 2026 EWC entry is a joint operation between a Japanese producer and a French team.

In 2001, a major Japanese broadcaster ran a documentary-style series that followed ordinary applicants attempting to become professional motorcycle racers. Hamaguchi was chosen as its lead from roughly 2,000 applicants and appeared for six months.

The programme was watched nationwide, and he became one of the very few people in Japan to reach professional racing through television. That June he won the series' championship round at Sportsland SUGO and earned the licence that took him to the Suzuka 8 Hours.

That combination — a racer with a public story — is why his projects reach audiences beyond the paddock.