Noriyuki Haga unfazed by Thruxton challenge

Noriyuki Haga is confident he will quickly adapt to the Thruxton circuit this weekend as he makes his debut at the fast Hampshire venue. Haga, who finished in 13th place on the Swan Yamaha at Brands Hatch after fluffing his start, is looking forward to the challenge as he targets 'good positions' in both MCE British Superbike races on the YZF-R1. “It is the first time for me to visit Thruxton and when we arrive there I want to have a look at the track so I have an idea ready for practice on Friday, but I learn the tracks fast so I am not worried. “I was disappointed with the result at Brands Hatch but now I am looking forward to Thruxton as on TV I have seen it is very fast and seems quite wide to make passes,” he said. “I hope that this weekend we can have a good result for everyone as I want to be fighting for a good position in both races.” Haga's team-mate and reigning MCE British Superbike champion Tommy Hill endured a miserable start to his title defence after crashing out of the action in the tricky conditions at Brands. However, team manager Gary Ekerold is confident both riders will give a much better account at Thruxton. “After a difficult weekend at Brands Hatch the Swan Yamaha team are all looking forward to Thruxton. We hope that this weekend we get some better conditions because we know that we have the pace to be competitive and we believe we resolved the issues we had last weekend,” said Ekerold. “The team finished on the podium there last year so we are aiming high for this weekend.”