Takaaki Nagami continues his merry way in a 2019 MotoGP season which promises to be the best of his career at this level. Riding a Honda from last year, he demonstrates the difficulty of getting on the new RC213V opus proclaimed by his teammate Cal Crutchlow, by pointing ahead of him in the championship. That being said, it was behind a KTM that he finished his Catalan Grand Prix…
A performance which brought him to eighth place, behind Pol Espargaro. It was the sixth top 10 of the season for the 27-year-old Japanese, a position which is also his in the provisional general championship standings. Crutchlow He finished tenth with six points behind his teammate... It will be recalled that the Englishman adds to the list of eleven retirements recorded during the seventh meeting of the season.
Nakagami made a good start from his 16th place on the starting grid and took up positions on the first lap. He then had difficulties due to tire wear exacerbated by the heat of the track for 24 laps.
« Conditions were very difficult all weekend " has explained Nakagami. “ During the race, temperatures were very high, which made tire management extremely complicated. We knew the end of the race would be difficult because we opted for the soft rear tire ».
« I tried to ride fast from the start, but the grip was gone for the last five laps and I couldn't keep the pace up front. Despite everything, I'm quite happy to finish in the top ten because I started from 16th position. The start was the key to this race. I was strong there and in the first lap I was in ninth place. And we finished with the important points of eighth place ».
The next Grand Prix will take place in two weeks, in Assen.
MotoGP Catalonia J3: classification
