Japanese motorcycle racer
| Tadayuki Okada |
|---|
![]() Tadayuki Okada on the Honda NSR500V |
| Nationality | Japanese |
|---|
| Born | February 13, 1967 (1967-02-13) (age 57) |
|---|
|
Tadayuki 'Taddy' Okada (born February 13, 1967) is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was runner-up in the 1994 250cc and in the 1997 500cc World Championship.[1][2]
Early career
Okada won the 250cc All Japan Road Race Championship in three successive years from 1989 to 1991 for Honda.[3] Honda then entered him into the 250cc World Championship in 1993.[2] He was runner-up in the series in 1994, and fourth in 1995.[1][2]
500cc and beyond
Okada stepped up to 500cc in 1996, helping develop the V-twin Honda NSR500V and finished the season in 7th overall. In 1997, he claimed his first 500cc win in Indonesia and finished second to Mick Doohan.[1][2] He missed several races in 1998 due to a wrist injury but bounced back in 1999 to finish third in the championship, with wins at Assen, Brno and Phillip Island.[1] Going into the final round of the season he was second in points, but lost out to final-race winner Kenny Roberts Jr. After a largely unsuccessful 2000 he switched to the Superbike World Championship for 2001, without winning a race although taking three podium finishes and 8th overall.[4] Okada chose to retire at the end of the year. He made a one-off wildcard appearance at the 2008 Italian Grand Prix at Mugello in June, finishing 14th, in the first race for the pneumatic valved Honda RC212V.[5]
Grand Prix career statistics[1]
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 onwards:
| 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)
References
External links
