Takaaki Nakagami hopes to have closed the ‘accident chapter’ in Losail. On Wednesday, he focused in particular on the new chassis
It was a pretty bad Wednesday for the Honda troops (but not only). Among the riders on this list, there is also Takaaki Nakagami, the protagonist of a crash. The Japanese driver later continued his test program, focusing in particular on the new chassis. For him, 50 laps on the scoresheet and tenth position in the world championship standings, but one of his goals is to make the boss smile a little more.
“The crash was strange,” Takaaki Nakagami said at the end of the day. “The grip is not bad, but there is a strange feeling in the front tire.” He explained the reason for this sensation. “70% of the rubber is soft, 30%, which is the right side, goes from soft to medium. At the point where there is how much I change, every time I passed that point I heard a warning signal. The crash is at Turn 1, it has come exactly to the point where the compound changes. “ As mentioned, he’s not the only Honda rider on the ground. “I saw that Bradl and Alex also crashed. Too many accidents in the last two days.”
“The rubber seems a bit complicated for everyone.” Viñales, Binder, Aleix Espargaró, Lecuona, and Bradl crashed without serious consequences. Apart from that, a new day of testing for Nakagami. “We focused mainly on the new chassis,” he pointed out. “For me, it is very interesting and positive. We also did some comparative tests with the standard frame. However, there is also a need to work on the rear and on the swingarm. There will be many other new parts to try and every time the feeling on the bike improves.”
There is no shortage of excuses. “I have to apologize to HRC. On the last day of testing, I crashed and destroyed everything, even the new fairing. I need to calm down, I’ve already hit the ground twice. The last one was bad enough, it was at high speed. Fortunately, without damage to me and the bike. “ A thought also to those who are in the box. “Alex also fell several times. Lucio [Cecchinello] is smiling less. I hope to get good results to make him happy! “ There is also a consideration on Pol Espargaró. “I knew he could adapt to Honda very soon,” he remarked. “Day after day it is faster. It’s nice to see him in top 10 or top 5, for me it’s a good sign. “