Takaaki Nakagami spearheaded the Honda house in a Spanish Grand Prix experienced with the 2020 chassis of the RC213V. An interesting clarification which debates within the HRC clan. Incidentally, the Japanese finished fourth and delighted with his equipment behind Morbidelli who laments having to still ride with a 2019 Yamaha. It is sometimes difficult to find your way in MotoGP, but what is certain is that emotion is constant there. So, the Japanese also had a little tear when he returned to his box…
Nakagami has never been so close to a podium at the end of a race in MotoGP. Or even better since he only returned a little more than 3s on the winner, Jack Miller on his Ducati. But third place slipped through his fingers by seven tenths. “ I'm happy with myself, it was a tough race ", said Nakagami. " I am proud of my performance, the race pace was very high. We were able to keep up the pace, I had a good feeling on the bike from start to finish. Third place was close. So I had mixed feelings after the race. I'm 50% happy and proud, the other 50%... I don't know how to describe it ».
Nakagami: “when I arrived at the stand, I cried”
But the Japanese still tries to do it: “ disappointment is the wrong word. When I got to the pits, I cried. I missed my first podium, it was bitter. Still, it's a good result for us. Now we have a good rhythm ».
In the championship standings, Nakagami is the best driver Honda with 19 points, but only in 11th place, in the constructors' championship only KTM is behind the Japanese brand which relied on last year's chassis for the Jerez Grand Prix. “ It was the right choice », underlined the double winner in Moto2. “ On Monday we will test new parts and try to progress the new bike ».
« Last year, at different temperatures, we were less successful in racing ", said Nakagami. " At that point I wanted to give up towards the end of the race. This time, despite my injury in Portimao, I was very well physically, I could still run. And we showed consistent performance all weekend. We were also able to use the lateral grip of the tire. So I was able to pick up speed in the fast corners and my lap times didn't get much slower over the distance. This is the key ».
« The strength of the Honda is that we can keep the tires in pretty good condition until the end of the race. Last season I always managed to compensate something towards the end of the race, we still have room to maneuver with the lap times. We must continue to work in this direction he said.
MotoGP Spain J3: classification
Credit classification motogp.com
