Haga in World Superbikes at Brands Hatch in 2007
The 2012 BSB season just got a whole lot more exciting as Swan Yamaha have announced that Japanese madman, and all round top rider, Noriyuki Haga will be replacing injured Ian Hutchinson.
Famed for his balls-out riding and general lunacy, Haga has 43 WSB wins under his belt and was runner up in the Championship on three occasions and third four times. Basically he is a class act and is certain to become a firm favourite with BSB fans.
Haga said: "It is a new challenge for me to race in BSB and I am now ready for the new season with Swan Yamaha. I feel that after many years in the same series this will be a kind of restart to my racing career. BSB has grown a lot and I have big support from the fans in the UK, so I liked the idea of racing in the Championship. It will also be a return to Yamaha, where I spent so many years taking many wins and now I feel like I am going back to my family.
"I have won races with Yamaha before in the World Championship and now I hope that we can do it again in BSB. I don't know several circuits in England and the BSB Championship but I will do my best to get results this year for the fans, myself and for Yamaha. We will start testing soon and I am very excited to get back on track as we have big ambitions for this season. Finally I hope that Ian Hutchinson can recover soon from his injury."
Haga has actually raced in BSB before, during the 2004 season when he was involved in a fireball incident at Oulton Park that saw him lose his eyebrows! Check out the video (it is Haga who rides through the flames!).