NAKAGAMI MAKES GREAT STRIDES ON DAY THREE IN MALAYSIA

LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami signed off the pre-season tests at the Sepang International Circuit in promising fashion on Tuesday. With no rain on the final day in Malaysia and temperatures soaring to 50°C at one point in the afternoon, MotoGP rookie Nakagami made great strides as he continued to learn the ropes on board his RC213V.

The Japanese rider again completed a total of 54 laps during the course of the day and managed to shave nearly nine tenths off his best time from Monday. His lap of 2’00.071 saw him finish 14^th on the timesheets on Tuesday and 15^th overall at the three-day session. While disappointed not to dip under the 2-minute mark, Nakagami expressed his delight at the progress he had made.

#30 Taka Nakagami – 14^th (2’00.071)

“It was the last day today and we made quite good progress, I’m really happy to finish like this. My condition is quite good and I’m really happy with the lap time, I just missed out on a 59 lap by one tenth, but it was still a good day.

“Our race stimulation was also quite good and this is the main priority for us, to try and understand race conditions. I had a good feeling on the bike and we made a good step from yesterday, so I’m pleased and looking forward to the next test in Thailand.”