NAKAGAMI UPBEAT AHEAD OF SACHSENRING CHALLENGE

LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami is expecting a close weekend of racing as the Sachsenring hosts round nine of the MotoGP World Championship from Friday. The Japanese talent is targeting a return to the points positions after a run of demanding races and believes that the unique challenge of the German circuit is a good fit for his riding style.

Nakagami enjoyed a hugely consistent start to his debut season in the premier category, but failed to make the top 15 in Mugello, Barcelona and Assen. However, the 26-year-old retains his naturally positive outlook and believes this weekend offers a chance to claim a good result given the likelihood of close lap times across the field.

#30 Takaaki Nakagami

“I like this circuit and the last two years in Moto2 I did quite well. The layout here has a completely different character, top speed is not so important and the lap times will be very tight. But that means we have a chance. We need to find a good set-up, although it can be a bit tricky as it’s 90% on the left side and only 10% on the right, so it will be difficult to get the feeling on the right side. I think it’s quite good for my riding style, but we need to get a good set-up on the Friday and then on Saturday, in FP3, try to think about a position for qualifying.”