Position: Mechanic  Nationality: Japanese  years old    Masa (Mark Ramsey in the dub) is one of the best IGPX mechanics in the game, and he's in it for the love of his craft. He's actually the heir to the Hiratake Conglomerate, the world's largest investment banking group, though he keeps it a closely guarded secret. Masa may care more about his beautiful machines than the team's pilots.

In the year 2048, people are raving about a fighting race called &ldquo;Immortal Grand Prix&rdquo;, or IGPX in short, which is faster and more exciting than any of the existing motor sports. The phenomenon is so big that an entire city was built for the racing industry where competitions take place on a huge track. In the &ldquo;Immortal Grand Prix,&rdquo; two teams of three IG machines, high-tech humanoid mechs driven by humans, race at speeds greater than 400km/h. The teams make three laps of a 60 km course while intercepting the opponent as they vie for a first place finish. The best machine performance, the best pilots and the best teamwork are the only factors that can make them the winners.<br><br>
(Source: Production I.G.)

He is known for playing tough or grouchy men in dubbed anime and video games. His career includes Hotohori in Fushigi Yūgi and Jin in Samurai Champloo. He also played numerous cameos and minor characters in Rurouni Kenshin, in addition to the major character of Hajime Saito. He also does Don Patch in Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo as well as Gabumon and other voices in Digimon.  According to Anime News Network, Thornton has the most credits of any male voice actor and he is second in total voice actor credits only next to Wendee Lee. He has been in nearly two hundred voice-over productions for Japanese animation.  Thornton is also well-known for having played many different minor voice roles throughout the Power Rangers franchise (and similar series such as VR Troopers and Masked Rider).  Thornton has also had experience with ADR direction. Currently, he is co-directing the ADR for the popular anime series Bleach alongside Wendee Lee.

His name is sometimes mistranslated as Hitoshi Horikawa.

Team Satomi has just been deemed as the winners for the IG-2 lower league and now join the top IG-1 competition. But it's not going to be easy. Young pilots Takeshi, Liz, Amy, and River are going to have to be a team to be number 1, however one thing leads to another with these four. Most important of all, their opponents overwhelm Team Satomi in every aspect, including strategy and skill, as well as funding. One thing is for sure, this is not going to be an easy year for "Team Satomi." <br>

Masa Ishikawa