Takaaki Nakagami: "Really scary to stay on the bike" | "I will be an advisor of Chantra!"
“The numbers and all the data were crazy”
Takaaki Nakagami’s penultimate race as a MotoGP rider saw the Japanese forced to park his LCR Honda in the pits due to a ‘scary’ amount of vibration at Sepang.
Although many MotoGP riders continue to suffer chatter in some corners, Nakagami - riding the oldest spec Honda - said it reached ‘crazy’ levels in the Malaysian Grand Prix.
“Unfortunately, I had a crazy vibration from the rear,” said Nakagami, who rose to 15th before dropping to last and retiring on lap 14 of 19.
“Before the Sprint, it was acceptable. Some corners, yes, but was not that crazy.
“But in the Sprint, the warm-up and today’s race it was increasing, increasing… It was really scary to stay on the bike. And then I decide to stop.
“Of course, disappointed, but let's see. The next GP will be Montmelo. The track is OK for me but not so much for Honda. So let's try to improve the bike balance and to try to reduce this kind of crazy vibration.
“The next GP will be the last one, but I will get the new chassis, which the [other Honda riders] are already using. Also a couple of other things. It will be the last three days and I want to give my best and at least I want to enjoy riding.”
The Japanese, a MotoGP rider since 2018, is cautiously optimistic that the new chassis might improve the chatter situation.
“Looks like everyone complained [of vibration], but our bike, the oldest spec, it’s too much,” he said. “The numbers and all the data were crazy.
“I don't really know if they solved the problem but somehow only Zarco was acceptable. He not so much complained, but everyone [at Honda] has some kind of vibration.
“Let’s see at Montmelo, which will be a different race track and temperature. Also the tyre allocation will be totally different.
“So hopefully HRC analyse all the data and bring some different ideas.”
Nakagami: “I will be an advisor of Chantra!”
Two days after the rescheduled Barcelona season finale, MotoGP riders will be back for a day of official post-season testing.
Nakagami will also be present, but not on track.
Instead, the 32-year-old will help rookie Somkiat Chantra, who takes over the LCR seat for 2025, during his MotoGP debut.
“I think on Tuesday I will be an advisor of Chandra!” Nakagami said.
“It will be a different job. Let's see how different after the race. From Monday, I think I will step back and stay with the engineers to understand what they planning for the test.
“And then of course I will be next to Chantra because HRC asked me to help. But at least for me it's just about being there and letting Chantra try the bike. Because if I explain everything before he jumps on the MotoGP bike, it’s too much.
“So just I want to say to him, just try to ride in a natural way and [understand] the difference between the Moto2 and MotoGP. This is the main target for him and then let's see.”
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
