STRONG START FOR TAKA AT SEPANG
LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami impressed on the opening day of free practice at the Malaysia Grand Prix as he posted the 12th fastest time overall at the Sepang International Circuit. Although the threat of rain was present throughout the day, both practice sessions took place in largely dry conditions and Taka took advantage as he finished Friday’s action just outside the top 10.
Having placed 12th in FP1, the LCR star improved again in the afternoon session as he ended in 11th – one position behind HRC factory rider Dani Pedrosa. The 26-year-old will now focus on making up more time in the final sector of the circuit, but looks well placed to challenge for a spot in Q2 on Saturday.
#30 Takaaki Nakagami – (12th – 2’00.829)
“It was very tough conditions and it was difficult to find good grip in both FP1 and FP2 because there were some rain drops and then it was dry again. I don’t know the weather forecast for tomorrow, but if it’s dry maybe there will be more rubber on the track and we’ll be able to improve the lap time. For myself, in sector four we are losing a bit of time so we need to focus on that area to find an extra few tenths there. But we are very close to the top 10 and we’re happy with today’s result. The whole team is working well and pushing hard to find the best set-up for the bike to get a good result tomorrow.”
