At the end of this first day of the Spanish Grand Prix, Nakagami made his employers and compatriots happy by placing his Honda in sixth place. At least that's what one might think just by looking at the rankings. However, there is some doubt when we delve deeper into the question. Because the LCR driver had the opportunity to use the old chassis of the RC213V, a reunion which satisfied him. And he didn't fail to say it. Maybe a little too strong...
Takaaki Nakagami had a special work plan on this Friday of Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez. Indeed, he had to make a comparison between the new and old RC213V chassis. An operation which led to spontaneous comments from the Japanese which ended up being embarrassing. Happy sixth of the day, and far ahead of the other drivers of the brand, the teammateAlex Marquez anonymous twentieth commented: “ we were very busy as we tried both chassis. The feeling was a little better with the old one, which seems to have potential » revealed the Japanese shortly after the FP2. Perhaps realizing that he had perhaps revealed too much, he immediately added: “ but we must not forget the 2021 chassis either. We haven't decided yet which one we will use this weekend. We're going to do this tonight with the team and HRC ».
However, the damage is done. This latest generation motorcycle, Nakagami has been asking for it for years and now that he has it, here he is admitting that “ the old chassis has potential ". An unfinished work or a failure regarding the new one? “Taka” wants to remove the doubt by developing: “ the new chassis has potential in some areas, regarding handling and cornering. But we lack grip and stability on the rear wheel. We have tried many times in Qatar to improve this, but we have not found a solution. So we tested the old chassis again. This gave us more grip than the new one, which is positive. Because that's what we've been missing this season ».
Nakagami: “I need to look more closely at the data, but…”
« I have to take a closer look at the data, but the first impression from the comparison was that I was able to set fairly consistent lap times with the old chassis, a 2020 chassis. We managed 1'37 min on tires medium used. It looks good and I enjoyed riding the bike again. Anyway, Jerez is one of my favorite tracks », ends the Japanese of 29 years.
He concludes his speech by talking about his physical condition, damaged by a big fall at Portimao : " my physical condition is good. Jerez is really hard on the body. Of course we couldn't do a long distance, but I feel good. I lack a little strength, but I have no problem with movement and stability ».
« Overall it was a very positive day for us. P6 of the combined timesheet, we haven't seen this in a long time. We managed to be in the top 10. Of course, we still have to take a few more steps tomorrow in FP3, we have room for improvement. I haven't been pushing like crazy yet, but the lap times were consistent and the feeling on the bike was pretty good. We are on the right path ". The fact remains that Taka did not answer the question asking him with which chassis he had achieved his best time…
MotoGP Spain J1: times
Credit classification motogp.com
