It was with conflicting feelings that Takaaki Nakagami left Losail after the MotoGP tests, as he saw signs of improvement in his Honda RC213V but also recognized that compared to the competition, he is still far behind.
Analyzing how the tests went, the LCR Honda rider said that there were clearly signs of progress, but the problem is that other brands have also improved significantly, leaving Honda in a similar position:
– Honestly, if I don’t look at the position we finished in, I’m quite happy because we took a step forward. On the second day, I improved more than 1s compared to my last time, so yes, Honda took a big step, but once again, if I look at the positions, still… 18th. All four Hondas are within the group, but the difference is the same as last year because the other manufacturers have also improved. Something is missing, I can see that clearly.
As for the biggest improvements in his bike compared to the one he tested in Valencia at the end of 2023, the Japanese rider said: ‘Clearly the performance of the engine and also the bike is much more stable in braking and in the corners, super stable…’
Nakagami then said, like Alberto Puig, that there are many other areas in which the bike needs to improve: ‘Okay, last year’s bike was the most difficult at the rear that we saw and it was difficult to understand what was happening, and the 2024 bike is a big improvement, but we still lack rear grip, we can improve it, and of course, there are more areas, on the electronics side we are still playing around a lot, but the base package is more or less good.’
