Noriyuki Haga
Noriyuki Haga (Japanese芳 贺 纪行, Noriyuki Haga, born March 2, 1975 in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese motorcycle racer.
Haga is known for its extremely spectacular driving style, his enthusiasm and his fighting spirit and therefore very popular among motorcycle racing fans around the globe. His virtues earned him numerous nicknames such as Nori, Nitro Nori Haga- san or The Master of Going Faster. One of his other trademark is his race number 41
- 2.1 In the World Motorcycle Championship
- 2.2 In the Superbike World Championship
- 2.3 In the British Championship Supberbike
- 4.1 External links
- 4.2 Notes and references
Career
Noriyuki Haga began at an early age to ride the motorcycle, after his father had given him in 1979 a pocket bike. In 1980, he played first pocket bike racing. In 1993, the Japanese took in the 250 cc class for the first time at the Japanese motorcycle championship in part, graduating as 13. Between 1994 and 1996 the total ranks Haga took nine, ten and eight in the Japanese Superbike Championship. In 1996, he was able to win on the Yamaha 8- hour race at Suzuka, together with the American Colin Edwards. He also competed in the race in Sugo in the Superbike World Championship, where he was able to bring in a second place.
The following year, 1997, Haga won the Japanese Superbike Championship. In World Superbike he replaced at the last two events of the injured Colin Edwards Yamaha. In Sugo he was doing second in the first race and won the second race even.
Superbike World Championship
In the 1998 season, Noriyuki Haga started then with Yamaha permanently in the World Superbike Championship and made his first appearance with the 41 at. The Japanese drove on the side of U.S. veterans Scott Russell a Yamaha YZF 750 SP. Haga started furiously in the season and won three of the first four runs. At the end of the season he was with five wins and 258 points, sixth in the overall standings, although he had never driven on most routes and the YZF 750 SP was now five years old. In addition, Haga made his debut in the same year as a wild card rider at Yamaha at his home race, the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, in the 500cc class of the MotoGP World Championship, where he finished third surprising.
The 1999 season with the new Yamaha YZF -R7 and his new team mate Vittoriano Guareschi was rather unremarkable for Haga. He could only enter a race win and a third place and finished seventh overall.
In the 2000 season, Noriyuki Haga was able, with the vice world championship behind Colin Edwards, celebrating its best ever placing in the Superbike World Championship. Many fans believe to this day that Haga had won the title, he would not, after he tested positive for a prohibited means been punished. After the second round of the first event in Kyalami, South Africa, in which the Japanese had the ranks won two and one, he tested positive in a doping test, disqualified then and locked with effect from June 5 for a month, but the lock was initially not been implemented. A protest against this decision, which lasted until October 12, was only partially successful. Haga got the 20 points from the first run while back, but was suspended for the final event at Brands Hatch. It was later revealed that it had been the substance found to ephedrine, which was contained in a food supplement, which the Japanese had occupied in winter to lose weight. In the overall standings Noriyuki Haga finished with 65 points behind Colin Edwards in second place.
World Motorcycle Championship
For the 2001 season, Noriyuki Haga moved to the 500cc class of the Motorcycle World Championship, where he went for the Red Bull Yamaha WCM team on the side of Garry McCoy at the start. A fourth place in the Grand Prix of Great Britain was by far his best result, with 59 points, he finished 14th overall.
For 2002, Haga signed for Italian manufacturer Aprilia a contract for the Superbike World Championship. He achieved seven podium finishes and was fourth with 278 points in the overall standings.
The 2003 season played for Noriyuki Haga Aprilia again in the MotoGP class of the Motorcycle World Championship. The Italians continued with the RS3 Cube, type a completely newly developed four-stroke. His team-mate this year at Alice Racing Aprilia was an old acquaintance - the American Colin Edwards. The motorcycle, which had been developed along with the automobile specialists Cosworth, but it turned out as an aberration. Although Haga rode regularly in the points, but came again on 14th place in the overall standings not get out.
Return to the Superbike World Championship
For the season 2004 Noriyuki Haga moved back to the Superbike World Championship and went to the Renegade team, where he piloted a Ducati 999. His team-mate was the young Briton Leon Haslam. The Japanese could enter six victories and reached nine podium finishes. With the Ducati factory riders James Toseland and Regis Laconi he fought until the end for the title and eventually finished third in the championship standings, just 37 points behind world champion Toseland.
In 2005 Haga returned to Yamaha factory team and signed in a contract for the World Superbike Championship and, in turn, was third in the championship. The following season, 2006, he repeated this placement. The 2007 season was the best so far in Noriyuki Haga career. He started again for Yamaha, his teammate at Yamaha Motor Italia was the world champion of 1996 and 2005, the Australian Troy Corser. Haga won six races and was a total of 15 times on the podium. In the overall standings, he was from the British James Toseland only the narrowest of margins, beaten with 413 to 415 points and was as long ago as 2000, Vice World Champion.
For 2008, Noriyuki Haga was confirmed at Yamaha Motor Italia, and again entering on the side of Troy. Although the Japanese reached with seven race wins, the best so far yield his career, but won in as many races no points. Haga fought until the last race weekend in Portimão to the runner-up title, he finally had to surrender to Corser. Superior became world champion Ducati rider Troy Bayliss.
Season 2009
In the 2009 season, Noriyuki Haga came for the factory Ducati team Ducati Xerox in the Superbike World Championship. There was the Japanese successor of Troy Bayliss, who finished his career after winning his third World Cup title. His teammate was Italian Michel Fabrizio. Already in his first race could Haga, after an exciting battle with Max Neukirchen, in the Australian Phillip Iceland retract his first victory as a factory driver of the Italians. In the first nine races of the season won Noriyuki Haga four wins and five second places. On 10 May, the Japanese had in the second round in Monza, Italy after falling the first loss of the year suffered after he had collided with a bird. This was followed by two wins and four less successful races.
On June 28, Haga went in the first round of the British event at Donington Park for third place the 100th podium finish of his career in the Superbike World Championship a. In the second race of the day, the Ducati rider crashed while lying second exit of the Coppice curve was heavy and it hit several times by his own motorcycle. Haga was admitted to the Royal Hospital Derbi where fractures of the right scapula, the eighth and ninth dorsal vertebra and an open fracture of the right ulna bone were diagnosed, which would have meant the premature end of the season for him. The following day it was announced that the vertebral injuries from a previous accident came, the shoulder was not broken and Haga after about a month recovery period could possibly start again. The protrusion on his toughest World Cup opponents, the U.S. Yamaha riders Ben Spies, melted so together on 14 points.
26 July 2009 Noriyuki Haga went when running in Brno, Czech Republic back to the start and won in great pain with the ranks eight and six important points in the championship fight. At the next race at the Nürburgring in early September Haga was almost fully fit again and had the first run only Spies to defer. In the second race of the day he retired after a collision with the Northern Irishman Jonathan Rea and lost for the first time in the season at all the championship lead.
Season 2010
In 2010, driving a Haga / Fabrizio in the Ducati factory team was confirmed.
Season 2011
In 2011 went Noriyuki Haga for the PATA Racing Team Aprilia at the start.
Season 2012
In 2012, Noriyuki Haga played one season for the Swan Yamaha team in the British Superbike Championship, finishing in eighth place overall. After this disappointing debut year, no further contract was concluded for the 2013 season.
Statistics
In the World Motorcycle Championship
In the Superbike World Championship
(As of end of season 2011)
In the British Championship Supberbike
Private
Noriyuki Haga lives in the Italian region of Lombardy, near Monza for years. He is married and has two sons.