If championships were awarded for popularity, Noriyuki Haga would surely be the most decorated man in the history of the World Superbike Championship.

With his spectacular style, will to win and wicked sense of humour ‘Nitro’ Nori is a hit with fans all around the world. In his career he has topped the podium an amazing 26 times but he has yet to win the WSB championship. For many people the Japanese star isn't just a Yamaha World Superbike rider, he is the Yamaha World Superbike rider. The Samurai of Slide rode into WSB at a time when the series was challenging GPs for popularity and added another dimension to an already personality-packed paddock.

Nori-chan made his debut as a wild-card at Sugo in 1996 and made an immediate impact by finishing second. He was drafted into the factory team as a replacement for the injured Colin Edwards at the end of 1997 and was a permanent fixture with the Yamaha factory team until the programme ended in 2000. Five wins during the 1998 campaign made Haga the first Japanese rider to gain a worldwide audience. Fans loved the way he would throw the YZF750 sideways into the corner, but just as much they loved his carefree attitude to life.

One of Haga’s notable moments came in 2000 when he took his YZF-R7 to second in the championship. Following their withdrawal from the World Superbike Championship at the end of 2000, Yamaha offered Haga a switch to Grand Prix. However, after a year of mixed results Noriyuki decided to move back to his beloved World Superbikes.

After three nomadic years riding for other teams it came as no surprise when Yamaha Motor Italia recaptured Haga to lead their squad upon the marques return to World Superbikes in 2005. The then 31-year-old from Aichi did not disappoint. With the R1 improving throughout the year, Haga showed his best form in the latter part of the 2005 campaign, winning two races (Brno and Brands Hatch) and out-scoring eventual champion Troy Corser over the second half of the season to take third overall. 2006 saw the team make big strides in improving the rideability of the R1, allowing Haga to win at Brands Hatch and take 10 other podium finishes to end the year third in the final standings again.

2007 proved to be the ‘so near yet so far’ year for Haga, as he battled throughout the year, taking six wins in addition to nine other podiums. In a dramatic end to Haga’s tenth year in WSB since his debut, the championship win went right to the wire at Magny-Cours. In a valiant effort Nori took the double win at the final round but found himself the championship bridesmaid, missing out on the title by only two points. Far from deterring the Japanese star, his 2007 result has spurred Haga on and he faces 2008 with a fresh determination to win the title. Whatever the result and no matter how tough the opposition is, Haga has proved he is capable of passing any rider at any time and will always be a front runner in the championship he considers home.