After he crosses the end line in Barcelona on the closing spherical of the 2024 MotoGP season on 17 November, Takaaki Nakagami will begin a brand new chapter in his life as a Honda take a look at rider.
It is a function that can take him again to his house nation of Japan, a seismic shift for him after spending one of the best a part of 10 years residing in Europe.
Out of these 10, seven have been spent racing in MotoGP with the LCR Honda staff. He’ll depart the premier class with the sting of not having completed on the rostrum, regardless of coming shut on just a few events throughout his breakthrough 2020 marketing campaign.
Nakagami had beforehand scored 14 podiums in six seasons in Moto2, together with two wins, which earned him a transfer as much as the premier class with Honda’s satellite tv for pc squad, LCR. Nakagami was inducted into the Idemitsu aspect of the operation in 2018 to fulfill the Asian quota set by the lubricants firm.
In 2025, will probably be Thai racer Somkiat Chantra who will take over the place at the moment occupied by Nakagami, who took the choice to step down from MotoGP just a few months in the past. Nevertheless, he maintains his relationship with Honda, which is able to hold him a take a look at rider based mostly in Japan.
Takaaki Nakagami, Staff LCR Honda
Photograph by: Asif Zubairi
This transfer is a part of the shake-up that Honda instigated by Honda to speed up the optimisation of its RC213V, a motorcycle whose efficiency has been in a free fall for a while. The arrival of Romano Albesiano as the brand new technical director, plus three-time grand prix winner Aleix Espargaro into the testing division in Europe, is all a part of the identical overhaul. Nakagami will add one other gear within the growth of the components which might be examined in Japan, a activity that was till now within the fingers of Tetsuta Nagashima.
In subsequent week’s finale, Nakagami will say goodbye to what may be thought of extra of his house observe than Motegi. The Japanese rider, in any case, has been residing in Sant Cugat del Valles on the outskirts of Barcelona for nearly a decade.
After the ultimate cease on the calendar, and official take a look at the next Tuesday, during which his job shall be to tutor Chantra, he’ll pack his luggage and return to his house in Chiba, a metropolis situated 40 kilometres to the east of Tokyo. There, his life will out of the blue go down two gears, at the least so far as journey is worried, though he nonetheless doesn’t know what his day-to-day routine would appear to be.
“We’ve not but spoken with Honda. We’ll accomplish that originally of December, when I’ll go to the HRC headquarters. There they may clarify to me the plan they’ve deliberate for me, for the following six months,” Nakagami advised Motorsport.com / Autosport.
“I do not know but what number of days of testing I’ll do, or the place, or what number of wild playing cards they need me to do.
“Honda desires to speed up the event of the bike in Japan. There’s Nagashima, however he’s not quick sufficient to judge the components past their performance. The concept is to shorten the time within the analysis of the novelties, and I’m quicker than him. My instances won’t be 5 seconds off the grand prix riders.”
After 17 full seasons on the planet championship, together with the decrease lessons, Nakagami is conscious that the calls for of being a rider won’t be the identical from subsequent 12 months.
Takaaki Nakagami, LCR Honda
Photograph by: Asif Zubairi
That does not imply that he can abandon his preparation, though his new routine could have nothing to do with the one he had till now in Barcelona, the place he skilled six days every week and mixed periods within the fitness center with flat observe coaching.
“My rhythm and way of life will change utterly. For the final 10 years, I’ve been residing in Spain, and now I’ll transfer again to Japan,” he mentioned.
“The very first thing I must do is adapt to the brand new context, to the brand new climate, after which see what’s the easiest way to maintain match and accustomed to velocity.
“The great factor is that Honda is at all times there, so I will use the bikes they let me use, or use their circuits.”