Corse have been in talks with the rider for a while now with negotiations having just concluded. The 33-year old driver has moved over from former Yamaha Motor Italia WSB team and is currently unpacking for a full 2009 season alongside fellow rider Michel Fabrizzio.
With plans for next year's racing events already disclosed, Haga's new adoptive team can only hope for the best results, especially that the rider seems to have been received with arms wide open: "I am very proud to be able to welcome Noriyuki", commented Davide Tardozzi, Ducati Corse's Superbike Team Manager who expressed the joy at having sealed a deal with one of today's top SBK riders by making apologetic comments.
“We are convinced he is one of the strongest and best loved of the Superbike riders, a talented and courageous man. He is a rider that has proved that he never gives up, in the true spirit of Ducati, and is a rider with the credentials to fill the place that Troy Bayliss vacates”, Tardozzi added on the same unearthly optimistic tone.
The Japanese speed-devil will ride a Ducati bike for the first time but team-mates are convinced he'll have a good season start and win over fans fairly easily. Haga has had a good 2008 performance, having won the first race of the latest Magny Cours event and scoring a podium during the second, having finished right behind Troy Bayliss.
Although the title has already been secured by Aussie sensation Bayliss, Haga is the happy occupant of the second place in the yearly standings with 325 points which are likely to add up after the forthcoming Portimao-held event on the 5th of November.
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