Tadayuki Okada

Okada on Honda at the 1996 Japanese Grand Prix

Tadayuki Okada ( Japanese 岡田 忠 之 , Okada Tadayuki ; born February 13, 1967 in Jōsō , Ibaraki Prefecture , Japan ) is a Japanese motorcycle racer .

Okada, nicknamed "Taddy", was a Honda factory rider for many years and was runner-up in the motorcycle world championship twice in his career .

Career

Tadayuki Okada was Japanese 250 cc champion on a Honda from 1989 to 1991 . Between 1989 and 1992 he also took part in this class, as a wildcard pilot, in his home Grand Prix as part of the motorcycle world championship , and in 1992 he came second behind Luca Cadalora .

250 cc world championship

For the 1993 season , Tadayuki Okada became the official Honda factory driver in the 250cc World Championship. In his first full year at the World Cup he was regularly in the points, achieved two second places and finished eighth with 120 points. In 1994 Tadayuki Okada fought for a long time with the Italian Max Biaggi for the World Cup crown, but finally had to be satisfied with the runner-up title, 20 points behind. At his home race in Suzuka , he achieved his first Grand Prix victory, followed by victory number two at the Grand Prix of Argentina . In the 1995 season , Okada failed to win, in the overall World Cup he finished fourth. At the 8-hour race in Suzuka he celebrated his first victory this year together with New Zealander Aaron Slight .

500 cm³ world championship

For the 1996 season Tadayuki Okada moved to the 500 cc class, where he was a Honda factory rider, the V2 - NSR500V co-developed and finished seventh World Cup ranking. In 1997 , Okada started in the works team on a four-cylinder Honda. He won his first 500 cc World Championship run at the Indonesian Grand Prix in Sentul and was runner-up behind his Australian team-mate Mick Doohan , who won twelve of the 15 races. In 1998 Tadayuki Okada had to skip four races due to an injury to his wrist and so only reached eighth place in the World Championship.

In the 1999 season Tadayuki Okada showed stronger performances again and won the Grands Prix in the Netherlands , the Czech Republic and Australia . With 211 points, he only had to beat his Spanish team-mate Àlex Crivillé and the American Suzuki driver Kenny Roberts jr. give up. At the 8 Hours of Suzuka he celebrated his second victory , this time together with Alex Barros from Brazil .

After a disappointing 2000 season , in which the Japanese did not achieve a single podium, Tadayuki Okada decided to switch to the Superbike World Championship .

Superbike World Championship

In the 2001 season Tadayuki Okada started for Castrol Honda in the Superbike World Championship. His teammate was the US champion of 2000 , Colin Edwards . Okada took three podiums and eighth overall.

Test driver

After the 2001 season, Tadayuki Okada ended his world championship career and worked as a test and development driver for Honda, where he played a key role in the development of the MotoGP machines RC211V and RC212V . In the 2008 season , Okada returned to the premier class of motorcycle racing as a wildcard pilot at the Italian Grand Prix in Mugello and tested a new version of the RC212V with an engine equipped with pneumatic valve control as part of the Grand Prix . He reached the 14th place.

successes

• 1989 - Japanese 250cc champion on a Honda
• 1990 - Japanese 250cc champion on a Honda
• 1991 - Japanese 250cc champion on a Honda
• 1994 - 250 cc vice world champion on a Honda
• 1995 - Winner of the Suzuka 8-hour race on a Honda
• 1997 - 500 cc vice world champion on a Honda
• 1999 - Winner of the Suzuka 8-hour race on a Honda
• 2012 - Winner of the Suzuka 8-hour race on a Honda
• 6 Grand Prix victories

Web links

• Tadayuki Okada on the official website of the Motorcycle World Championship (English).
• Tadayuki Okada on the official website of the Superbike and Supersport World Championship