HRC President Koji Watanabe has spoken about Somkiat Chantra's arrival in MotoGP and Takaaki Nakagami's new role within the Honda test team, a move that is being heralded as a key step for Honda's future, especially in this difficult period for the team.
Watanabe first wanted to thank Nakagami for his fifteen years of service with Honda, including seven in MotoGP, where he became the Japanese driver who has competed the most races in the premier class. Starting next season, Nakagami will join the development department as a test driver, alongside Stefan Bradl et Aleix Espargaró. " I am proud of the results he has achieved with Honda" , said Watanabe. " We live the most difficult moment in HRC history, and for this reason we are further expanding our development team with Nakagami, whose role will be fundamental"
Koji Watanabe: " Somkiat Chantra's commitment confirms Honda's commitment to long-term projects »
As for Somkiat Chantra, the Thai will take the place of Nakagami in LCR, becoming the first driver from his country to reach the premier category. Chantra, who raced in Moto2 for six seasons, was sponsored by Idemitsu and supported by HRC within the team of Lucio Cecchinello. " I am very happy about his promotion to the premier category., as it confirms Honda's commitment to long-term projects aimed at bringing Asian drivers at the peak of their careers" , added Watanabe.
The arrival of Chantra en MotoGP is therefore a strong sign of the will of Honda to diversify and develop new talents, while capitalizing on the experience of Nakagami to strengthen his test team and hope to return to the top in this period of disappointing results.
