Japanese rider Shinichi Nakatomi made his World Superbike Championship debut in 2006, delivering several top 10 performances on his Yamaha Motor France machine.

The 28-year-old former Japanese 250cc champion is no stranger to the Yamaha YZF-R1, having ridden one for three seasons in the Japanese JSB1000 championship before earning a call-up to Yamaha’s French squad for the 2006 campaign. 2006 was a season of learning for Tomi, as the team affectionately known him. With a new team, culture, tyre brand and a host of new circuits to learn it was no surprise that the quiet Japanese rider took his time to show his true potential, but by the end of the season he had shown he was consistently in the points.

Tomi’s second year in WSB showed how far he had come. He became a regular feature in the Superpole sessions and frequently fought for top ten positions. His best result of the year came at the new circuit of Vallelunga, where he took two ninth place finishes – the best of his WSB career to date – showing that when the playing field is level Tomi can compete with the best. He finished 2007 15th in the rankings.

With two years’ experience of racing most of the circuits on the 2008 Superbike World Championship calendar and an ever-improving YZF-R1 at his disposal, don’t be surprised to see Tomi move up the rankings in the coming year. The Japanese rider is a proven winner in his homeland and a potential podium candidate in his third world championship season.