The Italian Grand Prix ended with a disappointing 16th place for Honda test and reserve rider Takaaki Nakagami, who came close to scoring World Championship points. Starting from 19th position, the Japanese HRC test rider managed to stay in the points for several laps early in the second half of the race, before crossing the line 33,1 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez.
« My running pace was pretty good, I was as fast as Joan Mir, " has explained Nakagami confidently. Unfortunately, he lost crucial time at the start and end of the race because of " significant vibrations at the rear, " forcing him to slow down." It's a shame I got out of points,” he lamented.
Despite this result, the passage of Nakagami en Italy has been extremely beneficial for his primary mission: development work with the test team. Having previously driven exclusively for the LCR satellite team, Nakagami noted some " major differences " in the working methods of the factory team.
« I learned a lot from the factory team,” he confirmed. Compared to a satellite team, the way of working is different; the way we work inside and outside the pits is different. It was beneficial for the future to feel this difference.. » At Mugello, Nakagami focused on optimizing his riding style and balancing the bike with his team leader, without testing new parts.
Nakagami: " Aleix Espargaró will be in Assen next weekend »
The transition from trial mode to competition was not easy for Nakagami, even though he had already run this year. It wasn't easy for meI did many test days and was in test mode. The transition to competition was not easy. But I realized how fast I was"
With the absence of Luca marini for the Assen Grand Prix, Honda must designate a replacement. Nakagami confirmed that he will hand over to his fellow test pilot, Aleix Espargaró. “ They told me it was only for this race. Aleix will be in Assen next weekend.,” he said before returning to Japan.
The observations of Nakagami on the working differences between a factory team and a satellite team could be crucial for Honda in its development process and return to the top of MotoGP.
Race classification MotoGP Mugello
