Tetsuya Harada

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.

Tetsuya Harada
Tetsuya Harada on the Yamaha TZ250 (1993)
Nationality	Japanese
Motorcycle racing career statistics Grand Prix motorcycle racing Active years 1990 - 2002 First race 1990 250cc Japanese Grand Prix Last race 2002 500cc Valencia Grand Prix First win 1993 250cc Australian Grand Prix Last win 2001 250cc Pacific Grand Prix Team(s) Yamaha, Aprilia Championships 250cc - 1993 Starts Wins Podiums Poles F. laps Points 145 17 55 21 21 1546

Early years

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. 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

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. 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. 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.

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. 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

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. 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. 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.

Grand Prix career statistics

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 DNS	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

External links

• Tetsuya Harada at MotoGP.com
• Profile
• (in Japanese) Official site