It is not all about Japan in these terms , of course , something the keenest fan will have already noticed . Let your eyes glide slowly down the list of the 12 official manufacturers who have started at least one WorldSBK race and you find the name Petronas at number nine , with 93 starts . Compared to the traditional way of doing it , this Malaysian owned and run small scale manufacturer went straight into the business of creating impact and expected global success , by designing and building a radical reverse cylinder engine and racing straight in at the top level in WorldSBK . There had been talk of it going to MotoGP™ , but finally , a road bike path was chosen . An entirely different route to intended success compared to most , one that was not without its problems and challenges despite hiring some star names like Carl Fogarty and Eskil Suter to try to turn the 900c three cylinder into a winner . Easily one of the most interesting entries ever in WorldSBK racing , it was maybe too ambitious as an overall two-wheeled racing reality . The reverse cylinder design made cooling difficult but apparently it handled like a dream . Let ’ s not forget , it still recorded podiums , pole positions and front row starts along the way . And let ’ s also remember that even one European manufacturer relied on power plants from a long way from home for some time . The exotic Italian Bimota brand mostly used Yamaha and then Suzuki engines in its various models ( Ducati and BMW were the other engine , from Europe , to be entirely even-handed ). Aftermarket kit for racing . Think Showa suspension , Nissin / Yutaka brakes and any number of other electronic or ancillary parts . So much for the bikes and ‘ hardware ,’ what about Asia ’ s contribution to WorldSBK in terms of riders ?
The contribution has been very significant , despite the fact that as yet no Asian rider has won the WorldSBK championship outright . But there have been some star names from Japan , even beyond the obvious ones . Norick Abe and Tadayuki Okada are two stands outs , even if they did not quite win a race . Add in both Takuma and Haruchika Aoki and a certain Shinichi Itoh and you can see that even as wildcards at Sugo for the most part , Japanese riders have been more than represented , the main numerical point of focus in the Asian region . There have been - get this stat because it blew our minds first time we read it - no fewer than 117 different Japanese riders competing in WorldSBK at some time or other . That is the third most for a single country . It is seven more than even the UK ! The current lone regular Japanese entrant in WorldSBK is a certain Kohta Nozane , from the GRT Yamaha squad . The fourth most successful WorldSBK rider of all in terms of race wins in Noriyuki Haga , who won 43 races , as part of the podium total of 116 . He is third best of all time in podium scores . His riding style , unpredictability and sheer pace were legendary and but for a bad final day in the 2010 season , he would have been the World Champion for Ducati . At his best , Nori was unbeatable , by anyone . And without question one of the biggest characters the championship has ever seen . The next best Asian rider , another Japanese , is Yukio Kagayama , who won four times for Suzuki in a short but memorable WorldSBK career . Akira Yanagawa scored three wins , all on Kawasakis , the same as Makoto Tamada and Ryuichi Kiyonari , both on Hondas . Two race wins were the career high-scores for Hitoyasu Izutsu , as a wildcard at Sugo . It was as wildcard riders that many Japanese race winners and podium scorers came to light . Yuichi Takeda ( the youngest ever race winner , at
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