Fabio Quartararo had signaled the deadline before the beautiful day consecrating the arrival of summer as fateful to decide his future and it seems that it will be shared by Taka Nakagami. At least that's what his current boss in the box Lucio Cecchinello suggests, making himself, in the process, the simple echo of Honda which decides everything. Under the colors of Idemitsu, the Japanese sees young Asians in Moto2 openly threatening him in a MotoGP course which has so far not produced anything transcendent for five years. Nakagami is under pressure, and perhaps already too much to cope...
On the transfer market with a view to 2023, and beyond, the name of the team LCR arrived among the rumors as diverse as they were varied with an option Jack Miller in place ofAlex Marquez. In view of the reactions of those interested, starting with that of the Australian, who says he is happy with Ducati and on any Desmosedici, we are far from it. However, this noise also shed light on the case of the other pilot working in the box. Lucio Cecchinello. Either This Nakagami, whose fate would already be in serious jeopardy.
Because the bad situation of the Japanese does not date from recent days… He recognizes in fact: “ honestly, I'm under pressure since Qatar »Says Nakagami, who openly admits Motorsport-total : " I didn't show the best performance in the first races. I have a top 10 in Qatar ". In Portugal he finished 16th outside the World Championship points. He was racing behind Pol Espargaro (Honda) and Brad Binder (KTM). In the duel with Binder, Nakagami hit the rear tire of the KTM and he fell before resuming the race, but far away. During testing and warm-up, Nakagami always shows good times. But so far, in qualifying and the race, he hasn't been able to get to the point. He also struggles to find the optimal feel for the new Honda RC213V.
« I have to show the team and Honda that I have potential and speed », declares the pilot of 30 years. “ Maybe I have extra pressure. My mental coach helps me a lot. My feelings are better than last year. The only thing missing is confidence in the bike ". Which is still not nothing. Meanwhile, in the ranks Honda, we seem to be losing confidence in the Japanese driver. His distinguished colleague Stefan bradl, which tests for Honda, put it squarely among the lost causes by declaring: “ Moto2 rider Ai Ogura would fit well into MotoGP ».
Taka Nakagami? “He still has one step left to take to manage the race"
And what does his local boss think? Lucio Cecchinello ? He is being cautious, which does not bode well… “ Taka's place is part of a Honda program across Asia », recalled the Italian. “ This program begins with the Asian Talent Cup and continues with Hiroshi Aoyama's Honda Asia team in the Moto3 and Moto2 world championships. The long term goal is MotoGP. Idemitsu is a Honda sponsor, so they have a say in rider selection ».
The fundamentals laid, here is the rest… “ Taka is now in his fifth year with the Idemitsu MotoGP team. I think it will be very important for him to show up by the end of June. Then we have to wait and see if Honda already wants to promote a young Moto2 rider to MotoGP for 2023. We are talking about Ogura or Chantra ».
« We have to be very careful before saying that Taka won't get another contract » finishes the man from LCR. “Because he’s a very fast driver. Maybe we need to help him more as a team. He still has one more step to take to manage the race. He is often fast in practice, super fast on Sunday morning, but something is missing in the race ". This weekend in Jerez, he will have to prove that he deserves his place.
