 Numata took the machine to its first victory at Round 9 of the championship.He went on to give Suzuki its first ever 250cc national title in 1995, beating Honda’s Tohru Ukawa, and repeated the feat again the following year beating future 250cc World Champion Daijiro Kato.He got a wild card ride in both the 1995 and 1996 Japanese Grand Prix and while a non-finisher in 1995, rode an impressive race in 1996 to finish 2nd behind then 250cc World Champion Max Biaggi.