For Takaaki Nakagami, the 2023 season of the MotoGP World Championship was almost a copy of what he had in 2022: same final position and only six more points achieved. He impressed by only having one retirement, but his performance was not favored by the common difficulties faced by all Honda riders.
The Japanese rider from LCR Honda started with a 12th place at the Portuguese GP, followed by 13th in Argentina before the only retirement of the season – which occurred at the Americas GP. Then, at the beginning of the European phase of the calendar, Nakagami achieved a sequence of five main races always scoring points – three of them in the top ten.
It was a moment that lasted until the Dutch GP before the summer break. There, the rider achieved his best result of the season with an eighth place. The return from the break was not ideal: Nakagami only scored points on six more occasions (half of the GPs raced) and never returned to top ten results.
The final phase of the year was particularly tough for the Japanese, who only scored points in two of the last five rounds. In the Sprint races, he never finished in the top nine positions that earn points, being one of the two regular drivers in this situation.
Despite not having an impressive year, Nakagami had the mitigating factor of Honda facing major difficulties. However, there is a feeling that more could have been done: he finished only two points ahead of his teammate Álex Rins, who was sidelined for several races due to injury. On the other hand, he beat the official Honda rider Joan Mir, who finished only in 22nd place. The next year will be another test for Nakagami, who in 2020 showed he was capable of regularly fighting for the top ten and has since experienced a drop in performance. There is no shortage of candidates for his position, so the pressure will be on in 2024.
Takaaki Nakagami’s 2023 season:
GP de Portugal: 15th Sprint/12th GP – 14th in the championship
GP da Argentina: 11th Sprint/13th GP – 15th in the championship
GP das Américas: 13th Sprint/Abandonment in the GP – 17th in the championship
GP de Espanha: Abandonment in the Sprint/9th GP – 17th in the championship
GP de França: 10th Sprint/9th GP – 17th in the championship
GP de Itália: 17th Sprint/13th GP – 16th in the championship
GP da Alemanha: 17th Sprint/14th GP – 17th in the championship
GP dos Países Baixos: 12th Sprint/8th GP – 16th in the championship
GP da Grã-Bretanha: 20th Sprint/16th GP – 17th in the championship
GP da Áustria: Abandonment in the Sprint/18th GP – 17th in the championship
GP da Catalunha: 20th Sprint/15th GP – 17th in the championship
GP de San Marino: 21st Sprint/19th GP – 17th in the championship
GP da Índia: 13th Sprint/11th GP – 18th in the championship
GP do Japão: 17th Sprint/11th GP – 18th in the championship
GP da Indonésia: 11th Sprint/11th GP – 18th in the championship
GP da Austrália: 19th GP (no Sprint) – 18th in the championship
GP da Tailândia: 19th Sprint/14th GP – 18th in the championship
GP da Malásia: 19th Sprint/18th GP – 19th in the championship
GP do Qatar: 18th Sprint/19th GP – 19th in the championship
GP de Valência: 16th Sprint/12th GP – 18th in the championship
