MotoGP, Nakagami: “This year’s goal? Our first win”

Shortly after the unveiling of Alex Marquez’s Castrol livery, Lucio Cecchinello’s LCR team also revealed the Honda RC213V with Idemitsu colour scheme that Takaaki Nakagami will ride as he heads into his fifth MotoGP season. The Japanese rider has also turned 30 today, like the number he’s sported on his fairings for many seasons already.

“I won’t celebrate my birthday, but I am hoping to get myself a nice gift”, jokes Taka after the presentation. “This will be my fifth season in the category and I hope to play a starring role, trying to score my first podium and perhaps even a first win. I can’t wait to show what I can do and I’ll also be able to count on a bike that’s been completely revolutionised compared to last year’s version, as well as a mental coach who will work with me each weekend”.

Nakagami: “The new RC213V is so different that it doesn’t seem like a Honda”

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The new bike is a big step forward according to number 30: “The RC213V has really changed a lot, aesthetically but particularly technically. There’s real potential, but it’s so different that when I rode it for the first time, it didn’t even seem like a Honda. I started to get to grips with it and adapt to the many new features at Jerez and then Sepang, but it will take a little time to be competitive also in races”.

The Japanese rider has had to forgo the Suzuka 8 Hours due to a packed 21-race MotoGP calendar, but he will be able to enjoy a home round: “I’m sorry to have to miss the 8 Hours, which is very important for us Japanese riders, but we have a clash with Silverstone. Honda will have a great line-up anyway, maybe with Vierge and Lecuona. As for me, I’m just happy that MotoGP will finally return to Japan, because I’ve really missed having a home round in recent years”.

“2023? I’m not thinking about it yet”

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Lastly, he touches on possible scenarios for 2023: “Many contracts will expire at the end of this year and in 2023 the MotoGP grid will probably look very different to how it does now. But I’m not thinking about it for now. I don’t have a manager and arrange everything myself, so I prefer to focus first on what’s happening on track”.

Translated by Heather Watson

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