Shota Ite

is a Japanese motorcycle racer who competes in the ST1000 class of the All Japan Road Race Championship for Akeno Speed.

Ite was part of Valentino Rossi's Yamaha Master Camp project in 2017. He has competed in the Asia Road Racing Championship as a wildcard in 2016, 2017, 2023 and 2025. He has also competed in the Suzuka 8 Hours since 2022, finishing runner-up in the Superstock class on his debut.

Early and personal life A native of Higashiōsaka, Japan, Ite began riding motorcycles aged nine, in competitions like the Daijiro Cup, and later the NSF100. His father Toshio is a former All Japan Road Race Championship 125cc rider, who competed in the 2000s and won several races, and influenced his son to take up racing.

Ite works part-time at Shinens Co., Ltd., one of his sponsors.

Career All Japan Road Race Championship JP250 (2016–2017) Ite entered his first All Japan Road Race Championship race in 2016, aged 14. He debuted in the penultimate round of the JP250 class, at Okayama with Akira Ryo's RC Koshien team. He qualified in 11th place but crashed out during the race. Ite participated in the final round at Suzuka, where he finished in sixth place within the domestic licensed class and 12th overall. Ite entered the 2017 JP250 season as a full-time rider, this time under an international license. During the opening race at Motegi, he finished as eighth-best of his class. He clinched his best JP250 result in the fourth round at Okayama, after finishing in fourth place. Ite closed the season with a fifth place at Suzuka, and finished ninth best in the international class overall.

Yamaha VR46 Master Camp In May 2017, Ite was invited to Valentino Rossi's ranch as part of the Yamaha VR46 Master Camp project, aimed at developing young riders from different parts of the world. He spent five days in Italy, where he was coached by Yamaha figures such as Lin Jarvis and Rossi himself. He rode dirt bikes as well as road bikes, together with the other invitees.

J-GP2 (2018–2019) For 2018, Ite made the jump to the prototype J-GP2 category, with his JP250 team. He finished 15th in his debut race at Motegi, which would be his best result all season. During the Okayama round, Ite qualified in 15th place but the race was cancelled due to the approach of a typhoon, and half points were awarded to the riders based on the qualifying positions. Ite remained in J-GP2 for a second year, where he improved his results from 2018, although with a smaller grid overall. His best result was a seventh place at Autopolis, and he finished in ninth place overall.

ST600 (2020–2023) Following two years in the J-GP2 class—now defunct—Ite moved to ST600 with Akeno Speed for 2020, aboard a Yamaha YZF-R6. In a tighter than usual calendar due to the COVID pandemic, Ite participated in four races in total, with his best result being ninth at Motegi. He finished 11th in the championship standings in his rookie season. In 2021, Ite improved his 2020 best result in the category, with two four places at Okayama and Autopolis. He also topped a test at Okayama, but his season was burdened by retirements. Ite clinched his maiden podium following a third place at Sugo, followed by another third place at Autopolis, where he led the race for many laps but ultimately finished third in a final lap battle with Kohta Arakawa and Keito Abe. Ite closed the season with his maiden win at the Suzuka Circuit, after pulling away from Tomoyoshi Koyama and Yuki Kunii. He finished in fourth place overall.

In 2023, Ite faced his fourth and final year in ST600. He won the opening round at Motegi in front of Keito Abe and Kohki Suzuki, which put him in the championship lead for the first time in his career. Throughout the season he picked up top-five finishes but also two retirements which set him back in the standings. He won the closing round at Suzuka for a second year, and finished in third place in the championship standings. In the off-season—amid category changes—Ite got to try the superbike-spec Yamaha YZF-R1, in an event organized by Yamaha.

ST1000 (2024–present) Ite stepped up to the ST1000 class with Akeno Speed for 2024. He finished eighth in the opening round, and would manage a best finish of fourth in the final round at Suzuka. He placed sixth in the championship standings. In 2025—in the 59th MFJ Grand Prix at Suzuka—Ite clinched his maiden ST1000 victory, in wet conditions in front of Kohta Arakawa and Taiga Hada.

During the pre-season in 2026, Ite took part in a Yamaha event where he acted as a coach to younger riders from the JP-Sport class, formerly known as JP250, a category he competed in between 2016 and 2017. In his third year in ST1000, Ite finished in fourth place in the opening round at Sugo.

Asia Road Racing Championship Ite has competed as a wildcard in three classes of the Asia Road Racing Championship. In 2016 and 2017 he entered the Suzuka rounds of the AP250 class, aboard a similar bike to the one he raced in JP250. He managed to score points in his second attempt in 2017, following a 14th place. In 2023, he entered the Sugo round in the Supersport 600 class, and finished eighth in Race 2 following a fall in the first one.

In 2025, Ite entered the Motegi round of the Asian championship, this time in the ASB1000 class—aboard an R1 similar to the one he used in ST1000. Following a crash in Race 1 when he was running sixth, Ite picked up the bike and rejoined to finish 13th. He would then finish in seventh place on Sunday's Race 2.

Suzuka 8 Hours In 2021, Ite participated in the Suzuka 8 Hours entry tryout race held at the circuit in May, which determined which riders were allowed to participate in the endurance event. In his first attempt to qualify for the race, Ite won the tryout race in the rain from 19th on the grid, which earned him a spot in the 8 Hours. However, due to the ongoing COVID pandemic, the event was later cancelled.

For the 2022 Suzuka 8 Hours, Ite entered the event with NCXX Racing—run by Tetsuya Harada. Alongside Yuki Ito and Soichiro Minamimoto, the team were able to finish as runners-up of the Superstock class in Ite's debut year in the 8 Hours.

In the following years Ite and his team had inconsistent results, with 2025 being his second best after 2022—finishing 10th in the superstock class. He has additionally shared motorcycle with Yuta Date, Yosuke Nakayama, Rei Toshima and Ren Okabe.

Career statistics All Japan Road Race Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap. Superscript numbers indicate overall results, including both national and international classes.) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Pos Pts 2016 JP250 Yamaha TSU AUT SUG MOT OKA SUZ 20th 10 2017 JP250 Yamaha TSU SUG MOT OKA1 OKA2 SUZ 9th 32 2018 J-GP2 Yamaha MOT SUG TSU1 TSU2 AUT OKA SUZ 19th 19 2019 J-GP2 Yamaha MOT SUG TSU1 TSU2 OKA AUT SUZ 10th 64 2020 ST600 Yamaha SUG OKA AUT MOT SUZ 11th 35 2021 ST600 Yamaha MOT SUG TSU1 TSU2 SUZ OKA AUT 12th 32 2022 ST600 Yamaha MOT SUG1 SUG2 AUT OKA SUZ 4th 69 2023 ST600 Yamaha MOT SUG1 SUG2 AUT OKA SUZ 3rd77 2024 ST1000 Yamaha MOT SUG AUT1 AUT2 OKA SUZ 6th 55 2025 ST1000 Yamaha SUG MOT1 MOT2 AUT OKA SUZ 4th 61.5 2026 ST1000 Yamaha SUG AUT MOT1 MOT2 OKA SUZ 4th* 49* Season still in progress. – Rider did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed more than ~75% of the race distance. – Half points were awarded based on the qualifying results.

Asia Road Racing Championship Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 AP250 Yamaha JOH JOH BUR BUR SUZ SUZ SEN SEN BUD BUD BUR BUR 40th 0 AP250 Yamaha JOH JOH BURBUR SUZ SUZ SEN SEN MAD MAD BUR BUR 28th 2 SS600 Yamaha BUR BUR SEP SEP SUG SUG MAN MAN ZHU ZHU BUR BUR 24th 8 ASB1000 Yamaha BUR BUR SEP SEP MOT MOT MAN MAN SEP SEP BUR BUR 19th 12 ASB1000 Yamaha SEP SEP BUR BUR MOT MOT MAN MAN SEP SEP BUR BUR 11th* 29* Season still in progress.

Suzuka 8 Hours Year Class Team Co-riders Bike Pos 2022 SST NCXX Racing with Riders Club Yuki Ito Soichiro Minamimoto Yamaha YZF-R1 2nd 2023 NSTK Akeno Speed Soichiro Minamimoto Yuta Date Yamaha YZF-R1 14th 2024 SST NCXX Racing with Riders Club Yuta Date Yosuke Nakayama Yamaha YZF-R1 DSQ 2025 SST NCXX Racing with Riders Club Rei Toshima Ren Okabe Yamaha YZF-R1 10th 2026 EWC Team BabyFace Titanium Power Kazuma Tsuda Rei Matsuoka Yamaha YZF-R1 Ret