After the departure of Marc Marquez, Takaaki Nakagami, at LCR since 2018, is the most experienced RCV rider in Honda's current line-up. The 213 RC2024V may look radically different, but according to him, the main weaknesses remain the same. The good news is that the Japanese believe clear progress has been made in several other areas, including qualifying laps and engine performance. At the Sepang test, the 32-year-old finished 13th, one second behind double Ducati world champion Francesco Bagnaia and 0,4 seconds behind the best Honda of Joan Mir (Repsol).
« We have taken a big step ", said Takaaki Nakagami about his best timed lap achieved at the end of the Sepang tests. “ Our goal is to improve on the qualifying round and certainly yes, it was the first time I was able to go into the 57 so I'm quite happy. But the best time is one second faster! ».
« Without a doubt, the strong point of the new motorcycle, this is the engine performance. Top speed and torque delivery are much smoother. It's pretty easy to understand what's going on on the bike and it's much better than last year's bike » also commented the Japanese in a moment when the official troops revealed their new colors for the MotoGP season which is on the horizon.
« I think the whole package is improving. Aero also. But honestly, the rear grip is about similar. I mean in the end all four riders complain a lot about the rear grip » however notes the teammate of Johann zarco.
« This is the worst point because we cannot eliminate this slippage. The wheel continues to turn. This is why after 10 laps our tire has a big drop. Especially in turn 3 and the last two corners, we have a crazy amount of skating. So we must not lose engine performance, maybe even go higher, but try to create more grip at the rear », analyzes the Japanese who insists: “ when we have a lot of grip the bike works pretty well. But when the tires fall off, it's very difficult to control. Luca Marini also said that it was quite difficult to deal with when the tire fell off. This is therefore the key point of the race ».
Takaaki Nakagami: “ Zarco and Marini's comments are really important, because they come from the best bike, Ducati »
« So I hope that in the next test in Qatar we can get a few little things to improve the balance of the bike and hopefully we can find a good rhythm. Maybe the qualifying round is good now. However, we can improve. But maybe for the next tests we will focus more on the long run » envisages the LCR pilot.
Nakagami This season has a new teammate in the person of Johann zarco who, like Marini (Repsol), arrives at Honda after several seasons at Ducati... " Zarco and Marini's comments are really important, because they come from the best bike, Ducati ", said Nakagami. “ So, 'what's the big difference between Ducati and Honda?' We had a big meeting and they were telling us: “Ducati does this, but Honda does that”. So Honda engineers are trying to understand to get the information from these two riders to try different concepts or different ideas for the future. But it's really important – and for me too, it's really interesting to know what the difference is between these bikes ».
« But in some areas they are satisfied, for example with engine performance. But yes regarding rear grip and also stability, we are still marking time. Like I said, on one lap we can maybe play a little bit, but on the long run we're pretty far away. So we need to focus more on that during testing in Qatar » recalls the Japanese.
Johann zarco, winner of the race in his last season with Pramac and 16th in Sepang testing, agrees: “ now the bike can be very good for an attack against the clock. Maybe the weak point is that when we have to do several laps in a row, the rear tire really struggles. And this can create problems during the race ».
« But the bike's ability to turn a fast lap on a fresh tire is something Honda didn't have before. So this is an important point that they have solved, and now we will see how to solve the next point » signals the Frenchman who ends: “ clearly, on another track like in Qatar, on another track, it will be interesting to see how the bike behaves ". The test MotoGP du Qatar will take place next Monday and Tuesday…
