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Takaaki Nakagami
- Team LCR Honda
- Bike Honda
- Nation Japan
- Date of birth 09/02/1992
- Place of birth Chiba, Japan
- Debut Qatar, 2018 (Honda)
In a grid of consistent churn, Takaaki Nakagami is one of few constants. With Marc Marquez ending his decade-long association with Repsol Honda, the only rider/bike combination with longer tenure than Nakagami is Aleix Espargaro with Aprilia – and that’s where the comparisons cease.
Espargaro has had the strongest two years of his career as he became the sport’s oldest rider; the best that can be said for Nakagami’s time at LCR Honda is that he’s been there, and is always there.
In a 2023 where the other three full-time Honda riders missed 41 races combined (Sprints and Grands Prix), Nakagami kept on keeping on. It typically didn’t amount to much – simply seeing the chequered flag on machinery that regularly broke his stablemates is an achievement in itself – but it’s been a gradual slide down the field for the Japanese since his MotoGP™ peak came with a top-10 finish in 2020.
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