VOL. 52 ISSUE 9 MARCH 3, 2015 P29
HAGA
RETURNS
C
all it the year of the come-
back as yet another World
Superbike fan favorite has re-
turned to racing—Noriyuki Haga.
Only for Haga it will be on a Su-
zuki GSX-R600 Supersport ma-
chine for Team Kagayama in the
FIM Asia Road Race Champion-
ship (ARRC).
Haga has raced for Team
Kagayama for the past two years
in the Suzuka 8 Hours endurance
race, but it will be the first time the
40 year old has raced a 600.
"This will be a new challenge
for me," Haga said. "I have
raced for Team Kagayama in the
Suzuka 8 Hours for the past two
years and now they have offered
me a full-season ride in the Asia
Road Racing Championship; an
offer I accepted with my upmost
pleasure. It will be a new chal-
lenge for the team and myself,
but my long-time experience in
the World Championship should
benefit the both of us. I've never
raced a 600cc bike before in
my life, so everything is fresh for
me and I am looking forward to
it. I hope I can live-up to Yukio's
[Kagayama] expectations and
hope to win races with the
team."
This season in the ARRC
Championship will mark Haga's
first active year in a champion-
ship since his 2012 season in
British Superbike.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLD
&
GOOSE
Noriyuki Haga to race Supersport
in the FIM Asia Road Race
Championship for Team Kagayama.
MOTOAMERICA ADOPTS
WSBK QUALIFYING
T
he AMA, the sanctioning body for the newly formed Superbike series MotoAmerica, an-
nounced its 2015 sporting rules. The most noteworthy of which is the adoption of the World
Superbike Superpole qualifying format for the Superbike/Superstock 1000 classes that will race
together but will be scored separately.
Superpole determines the top-20 grid positions in two 15-minute sessions—Superpole 1 and
Superpole 2. The top 10 combined times from the first three Free Practice sessions will advance
to Superpole 2, while the top two in Superpole 1 get to advance to the second Superpole session
for a second chance at improving their grid position.
In addition to the qualifying format, the combined Superbike/Superstock 1000 will hold both of
its races on Sunday at select events.
The complete sporting regulations can be read here: http://bit.ly/1B34U1v
