Pecco Bagnaia pays tribute to Noriyuki Haga: a MotoGP helmet dedicated to the Superbike legend

The Japanese Grand Prix at Mobility Resort Motegi brings back fond memories for Pecco Bagnaia. It was right here, last year, that he took his most recent victory in a MotoGP “long” race, while in 2017 on this very trip he mathematically secured the “Rookie of the Year” accolade in the Moto2 class, foreshadowing his 2018 world title triumph (including a win at Motegi). The Land of the Rising Sun holds a special place in the heart of the three-time World Champion, who has decided to honor the event with a special tribute to a legend of Japanese motorcycling.

Pecco Bagnaia will in fact race with a replica helmet of Noriyuki Haga, one of his earliest childhood heroes. Specifically, the Ducati rider will sport the colors of “Nitronori’s” 1999 helmet, having informed Haga himself of this (much-appreciated) tribute in recent days.

In addition to a quirky calculation involving his own birth date and that of his sister Carola, Pecco Bagnaia raced with the number 41 up to 2012, from MiniMotos through to the CEV Moto3, in homage to Noriyuki Haga. He set it aside only upon moving to the Moto3 World Championship (choosing 4, and later 21 from 2014 to 2016), as 41 was already taken at the time by Brad Binder.

The 2022 and 2023 MotoGP World Champion has a special bond with Japan, from his long-expressed wish to one day race the Suzuka 8 Hours to the origin of his renowned “GoFree” slogan. First uttered by one of his fans right at Motegi, it was then adopted and carried into the world as he captured all three of his world titles between Moto2 and MotoGP. We'll see if this helmet brings good luck.

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