Tetsuya Harada

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Tetsuya Harada
Tetsuya Harada 1993 Japanese GP.jpg
Tetsuya Harada on the Yamaha TZ250 (1993)
NationalityJapanese
Motorcycle racing career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
Active years1990 - 2002
First race1990 250cc Japanese Grand Prix
Last race2002 500cc Valencia Grand Prix
First win1993 250cc Australian Grand Prix
Last win2001 250cc Pacific Grand Prix
Team(s)Yamaha, Aprilia
Championships250cc - 1993
Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points
145 17 55 21 21 1546

Tetsuya Harada (原田哲也, Harada Tetsuya, born June 14, 1970) is a Japanese former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was the 1993 FIM 250cc World Champion.[1][2]

Early years[edit]

Born in Chiba, Japan, Harada won the Japanese 125cc Junior championship in 1988, and was runner-up to Tadayuki Okada in the All-Japan 250cc series in both 1990 and 1991, before taking the crown in 1992.[2] In all three years he competed in the Japanese round of the 250cc World Championship, twice starting on the front row and twice scoring points. His performance earned him a sponsored ride in the 1993 250cc World Championship.

250 career[edit]

Riding a Yamaha TZ250, he won four races including his home race and won the 1993 250cc World Championship in his first attempt defeating Honda's Loris Capirossi.[1][2] A wrist injury affected his performance in the 1994 season, finishing 7th overall with only a single podium finish. In 1995 Harada was Max Biaggi's main competitor for the 250 title. He won one race and finished 2nd eight times.[1] In 1996 his bike was underpowered and he only reached the podium four times. He was on the verge of retiring when Aprilia offered him a bike for the 1997 season. Although his 235 points were the most he scored in a season, he finished the season in third place behind Biaggi and Ralf Waldmann.[1][2]

In 1998 Harada battled his Aprilia teammate Capirossi for the championship, leading for most of the season, until the two riders were involved in a controversial incident at the final race of the year in Argentina.[3] Harada had the world championship within sight, leading the race into the final corner of the final lap when Harada's bike was rammed from behind by Capirossi's machine, sending the Japanese rider off the track. Valentino Rossi took the victory while Capirossi claimed second place and the world championship. Harada would finish the season in third place behind Capirossi and Rossi.

500 career[edit]

In 1999 Harada moved up to the 500cc class to compete on Aprilia's 380cc V-twin race bike. He obtained top 5 finishes in the first 10 races, including podium results at Paul Ricard and Donington Park: however, the bike's performance subsequently faded and he could not improve his results.[1] In 2000 he was less competitive, coming 16th overall. In 2001 he made another attempt to obtain a second 250cc world championship, taking 8 poles and three victories: the title, however, went to fellow Japanese Daijiro Kato.[1] For 2002 he entered the MotoGP class aboard a Honda two-stroke, but this proved to be his final year of professional racing, as he retired after a difficult season that saw him finish 17th overall. He ended his career with 17 Grand Prix victories, all in the 250cc class.[1]

Grand Prix career statistics[1][edit]

Points system from 1988 to 1992:

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Points 20 17 15 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Points system from 1993:

Position 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Points 25 20 16 13 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Class Team Machine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Points Rank Wins
1990 250cc Yamaha TZ250 JPN
7 		USA
- 		ESP
- 		NAT
- 		GER
- 		AUT
- 		YUG
- 		NED
- 		BEL
- 		FRA
- 		GBR
- 		SWE
- 		CZE
- 		HUN
- 		AUS
- 		9 27th 0
1991 250cc Nescafé Can RT Yamaha TZ250 JPN
6 		AUS
- 		USA
- 		ESP
- 		ITA
- 		GER
- 		AUT
- 		EUR
- 		NED
- 		FRA
- 		GBR
- 		RSM
- 		CZE
- 		VDM
- 		MAL
- 		10 24th 0
1992 250cc Nescafé Can RT Yamaha TZ250 JPN
NC 		AUS
- 		MAL
- 		ESP
- 		ITA
- 		EUR
- 		GER
- 		NED
- 		HUN
- 		FRA
- 		GBR
- 		BRA
- 		RSA
- 		0 - 0
1993 250cc Telcor Yamaha Valesi TZ250 AUS
1 		MAL
2 		JPN
1 		ESP
1 		AUT
6 		GER
6 		NED
2 		EUR
NC 		RSM
3 		GBR
DNF 		CZE
6 		ITA
DNF 		USA
5 		FIM
1 		197 1st 4
1994 250cc Yamaha of France TZ250 AUS
- 		MAL
- 		JPN
9 		ESP
7 		AUT
NC 		GER
7 		NED
NC 		ITA
2 		FRA
8 		GBR
4 		CZE
NC 		USA
3 		ARG
3 		EUR
5 		109 7th 0
1995 250cc Marlboro Yamaha TZ250 AUS
2 		MAL
2 		JPN
4 		ESP
1 		GER
2 		ITA
2 		NED
DNS 		FRA
5 		GBR
2 		CZE
2 		BRA
5 		ARG
2 		EUR
2 		220 2nd 1
1996 250cc Marlboro Yamaha TZ250 MAL
2 		INA
1 		JPN
NC 		ESP
2 		ITA
6 		FRA
3 		NED
10 		GER
NC 		GBR
DNS 		AUT
NC 		CZE
9 		IMO
NC 		CAT
- 		BRA
- 		AUS
- 		104 8th 1
1997 250cc Aprilia RS250 MAL
2 		JPN
3 		ESP
2 		ITA
NC 		AUT
18 		FRA
1 		NED
1 		IMO
5 		GER
1 		BRA
2 		GBR
2 		CZE
3 		CAT
4 		INA
4 		AUS
5 		235 3rd 3
1998 250cc Aprilia RS250 JPN
4 		MAL
1 		ESP
NC 		ITA
3 		FRA
1 		MAD
1 		NED
DNF 		GBR
2 		GER
1 		CZE
1 		IMO
10 		CAT
2 		AUS
DNF 		ARG
NC 		200 3rd 5
1999 500cc Aprilia RSW500 MAL
13 		JPN
NC 		ESP
NC 		FRA
3 		ITA
4 		CAT
4 		NED
11 		GBR
3 		GER
7 		CZE
5 		IMO
13 		VAL
11 		AUS
NC 		RSA
15 		BRA
12 		ARG
11 		104 10th 0
2000 500cc Aprilia RSW500 RSA
NC 		MAL
12 		JPN
NC 		ESP
11 		FRA
10 		ITA
NC 		CAT
9 		NED
12 		GBR
NC 		GER
NC 		CZE
14 		POR
14 		VAL
NC 		BRA
13 		PAC
13 		AUS
14 		38 16th 0
2001 250cc Aprilia RS250 JPN
2 		RSA
3 		ESP
2 		FRA
2 		ITA
1 		CAT
2 		NED
24 		GBR
18 		GER
3 		CZE
1 		POR
3 		VAL
2 		PAC
1 		AUS
2 		MAL
2 		BRA
6 		273 2nd 3
2002 MotoGP Pramac-Honda NSR500 JPN
11 		RSA
12 		ESP
10 		FRA
NC 		ITA
10 		CAT
13 		NED
13 		GBR
11 		GER
NC 		CZE
15 		POR
10 		BRA
13 		PAC
15 		MAL
NC 		AUS
14 		VAL
14 		47 17th 0

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Tetsuya Harada career statistics at MotoGP.com
  2. ^ a b c d Tetsuya Harada profile at crash.net
  3. ^ Loris Capirossi profile at crash.net

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tetsuya_Harada&oldid=1055495201"