The rumor is becoming more and more persistent: Takaaki Nakagami could move up to MotoGP next year alongside Cal Crutchlow.
Indeed, since the departure of Hiroshi Aoyama three years ago, no national from the land of the rising sun would no longer appear in the premier category, despite the presence of three Japanese in the world championship.
Since 2014, Takaaki Nakagami rides within the Idemitsu Honda Asia team, which is a structure abundantly financed by the Honda dealer group in Asia. The means are not lacking, nor are the ambitions. The transition of the Japanese driver has therefore been on the agenda for several years and only his inconsistent results have kept him in the intermediate category.
But at 25, in his 6th year of Moto2, it's a bit "now or never" and negotiations have been going on for months between Honda, the LCR team and Dorna.
Finding financing for a second motorcycle, even partially helped by Honda, is not easy for Lucio Cecchinello who experienced it with Jack Miller when he arrived in MotoGP before giving up the following year.
However, according to the site speedweek, the discussions would be on the verge of success, on the condition that Takaaki Nakagami finishes in the top three of the championship while he is currently sixth, 42 points behind Franco Morbidelli. A Franco Morbidelli younger (23 years old) that the LCR and Marc VDS teams begin to argue, one in case Nakagami does not move up to MotoGP, the other in case Tito Rabat would come down to Moto2 in 2018…
The transfer market is certainly less active than last season, but it is not non-existent, and is not limited to the above-mentioned drivers.
