TAKA ACHIEVES TOP 10 TARGET IN THAILAND
Takaaki Nakagami claimed another top-10 finish at the Grand Prix of Thailand on Sunday as Honda colleague Marc Marquez secured his sixth MotoGP World Championship title. LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Nakagami battled hard to ensure he came away with a creditable result after gruelling race in hot, humid conditions at the Chang International Circuit.
Starting from 14th on the grid in Buriram, Taka made a fine start and had climbed up into 11th place over the first couple of laps. The retirement of Aleix Espargaro after the midway point saw him enter the top 10 and he maintained that position until the chequered flag. With his home race up next, Nakagami was satisfied with his efforts on a day that ultimately belonged to Marquez and HRC.
#30 Takaaki Nakagami (10th – 40’05.646)
“It was a really tough race, with tough conditions for everybody. The grip level on the track was quite nice and right from the start I felt I was able to go a bit faster and I overtook a few riders and got up to P11. Then I gave it my best on every lap and my lap times were really, really consistent. For the whole race (Francesco) Bagnaia was less than a second behind me so that made it tough. But we did our best and I’m quite happy with another top-10 finish. It’s important because the next race is my home GP, so I want to say thanks to my team who did a great job all weekend and I’m really looking forward to Motegi. I also want to congratulate Marc Marquez and HRC for their title victory today, they have done an incredible job all season.”
