Noriyuki Haga

Read about Noriyuki Haga, including career highlights, pictures and news of the road racer right here at Motorcycle USA.

The Samurai of Slide. "Nitro" Nori Haga has reached icon status with race fans around the globe. It all started with a pocket bike his father bought him and from there, the rest is history. His meteroic rise to fame in Japan was highlighted by his 1997 Suzuka 8 Hour victory while teamed alongside Colin Edwards. Before that he raced the All Japan Roadracing series where he became a fan favorite with his sliding style. In his first 500GP as a Wildcard in the Japanese round in 1998 he finished third. He was an impact rider as soon as he joined the WSBK circuit, but the title eluded him. After coming in second in the 2000 WSBK Championship, Noriyuki moved on to the 500 GP class for 2001. For the 2002 season, Nori re-joined the World Superbike series and was expected to make an immediate comeback when he rode for Aprilia aboard the proven RSV Mille platform.

The 2002 WSB series was not too kind to Nori. Despite finishing fourth in the standings, he did not do as well as planned. Aprilia moved the charismatic rider to GP. He rode alongside former WSB rival, Colin Edwards, aboard the RS Cube.

Returning back to WSB in 2003, he has been third-best for three consecutive seasons. For 2007, Haga began his 10th season in Superbike, scoring 11 podiums but only managed one win in 2006. Nitro Nori still has a lot of racing in him and 2007 was the closest title in many years, as Haga took Toseland right down to the final race, falling by a meager handful of points.

For 2009, Nitro Nori was back in WSB and appeared to be in top form, riding to a 1-2 finish in the opening round and taking a double podium victory at Valencia and Kyalami. But the Samurai of Slide suffered some small setbacks, and ultimately finished second-overall, losing out by only six points.

In 2010 Nitro Nori earned sixth overall - his worst finish in the series since 1999. His season included two wins at Valencia and Nurburgring, and a total of four podiums.
 
For 2011 Haga will be returning for his 13th World Superbike season, and will be campaigning aboard the Pata Racing Aprilia team.