With six years already completed in MotoGP, all at the service of LCR Honda Idemitsu, Takaaki Nakagami is preparing to head into his seventh season with the team, and now with more experience than any other rider on the Honda RC213V.
The Japanese rider has always had a more «secondary» role within Honda, always in the satellite team and where he will continue in 2024, in the final year of his contract, but the truth is that after the departure of Marc Márquez he has the most experience and knows the bike best.
However, the hiring of Luca Marini, from the Mooney VR46 Racing Team, is seen as one of Honda’s ways of trying to return to success in MotoGP, with the manufacturer offering Valentino Rossi’s brother a two-year contract and he, with his experience at the helm of the Ducati Desmosedici, could even be (one) of the main «source” of development for the RC213V.
Joining the Italian at Honda as Nakagami’s partner is Johann Zarco, who also had a lot of knowledge and experience about the Ducati universe, which reinforces the theory that Honda will want to move towards a development path within its philosophy, but without forgetting the good things that the Desmosedici can add.
So it really remains to be seen what Nakagami’s role will be at Honda, given that Joan Mir has only had one year on the bike, and this year there are two new riders on the team from Ducati. Will Nakagami’s role to be the one that will assure Honda’s DNA is still on the new bike?
Will Nakagami be the stabilising element to keep Honda’s spirit alive? And what will Mir’s role be?
What is certain is that Honda seems intent on changing the “chip” and is counting on the expertise of two riders well used to Ducati: Zarco at LCR Honda, and Marini at Repsol Honda.