A wildcard entry into the French GP, Takaaki Nakagami managed to hold his own amidst the chaos of the race, and went on to secure his best result since 2021!
Takaaki Nakagami made his MotoGP return at the French Grand Prix as a wildcard. After finishing the 2024 season in 19th place in the championship with the LCR team, he was replaced by Somkiat Chantra and now serves as a test rider for Honda, like Aleix Espargaró.
The Spaniard participated in the Spanish GP 15 days ago, before Nakagami did not succeed him during the Jerez test which took place the following day, in preparation for last weekend's French GP.
The Japanese rider spent the weekend at the bottom of the standings, testing for Honda and collecting a lot of data. Qualifying last, he finished 16th in the sprint race on Saturday.
Against all odds, he caused a surprise in Sunday's race and managed to play his cards right amidst the regular drivers and the surrounding chaos. Choosing the right tires at the start and then making no mistakes despite the rain and a series of crashes on the track, he crossed the finish line in sixth place.
Nakagami had not achieved such a good result since the 2021 Styrian Grand Prix, where he finished fifth. A performance praised by Honda and added to Johann Zarco's victory in an unforgettable day for the manufacturer.
"I'm really happy for Zarco, to achieve this at his home GP is a dream! He and I made the same decision, to stay on rain tires. For my part, I simply tried to stay focused on my job, that is to say not to crash and not to overdrive. I was really fast on track today.", said Nakagami upon his arrival.
“It was quite chaotic at the start with the pit stops and all the riders changing bikes. It was quite difficult to keep up. I really enjoyed the race, even though it was very long! A top 6 is an incredible result, it's not at all what we expected but it's a great reward for the whole test team, who have worked very hard, not just this year, but for several years. Thanks to Honda HRC for this opportunity.”
Results of the French Grand Prix :
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
