Noriyuki Haga

Noriyuki Haga (often known as Nori or Nitro Nori) is a Japanese motorcycle racer born on 2 March 1975. He was Japanese Superbike Champion in 1997, and this was coupled with four top-five finishes in World Superbikes when filling in for the injured Colin Edwards. In 1998 he was in WSBK full-time, adopting the #41 he has used ever since. Nori won 5 races and finished 6th in the championship, despite lacking knowledge of most circuits. He also scored a shock 3rd place in a 500cc one-off for his home race. He finished 7th in the WSBK standings in 1999, but challenged for the title in 2000, although a positive test for banned drugs saw him disqualified from a race he had won and suspended for a 2-race meeting, leaving him 2nd to Edwards overall.

He raced in MotoGP on a WCM-ran, Red Bull-sponsored Yamaha 500cc bike in 2001, and on MS Racing's MotoGP Aprilia in 2003, but he was a distant 14th in the championships both years. 2002 was a winless season in WSBK, but for 2004 he returned to the series with Renegade on a Ducati, and was in contention for the championship until the last round. For 2005 he has led Yamaha's factory team, finishing 3rd in the championship and becoming the first rider to win a dry weather race having failed to lap fast enough to qualify for 'Superpole'.