Imagine Scott Russell seeing an unknown guy back then like Haga disappearing in the distance on the same bike. No wonder he was so desperate to pass Kitigawa and acting like a dbag when was clearly his fault. Was just the beginning of the end.1998 Haga again was in another league on tracks he never seen before. And champions like Fogarty or Kockinski were just some random riders in this race. Great rider Noriyuki Haga
That win for Haga saved Yamaha from total embarrassment because it was the first and only world championship road racing win for Yamaha that year as they had taken an absolute pasting in 500cc GP's Repsol Honda clean swept the season.