Fumio Ito went into history as the first Yamaha "Factory" rider who went abroad and scored the very first noteworthy placing for a Yamaha machine.

It was reported by Staff of Nippon Gakki (Yamaha Musical Instruments), the parent company, that participating in a race in the Los Angeles area would be a good idea to demonstrate the excellent quality of Yamaha motorcycles.

At that time (1958) there was no significant import into the USA, although Yamaha planned already the establishment of what later was called "Yamaha International Corporation".

So Yamaha participated in the Santa Catalina Island GP, held on May 3-4. This was also the first time a japanese manufacturer participated in a US race.

It was the eight Catalina GP with US and European entries, the track was more what we call now MX than roadrace !

Fumio Ito, Catalina G.P. 1958