LCR Honda lineup confirmed for 2023
Ahead of this weekend’s AragonGP, Takaaki Nakagami and HRC have signed a contract extension to keep the 30-year-old rider for the LCR Honda IDEMITSU team in the MotoGP class in 2023.
This is a bit of a surprise as many pundits have predicted that Nakagami will move into a testing role in 2023, and Moto2 rising star Ai Ogura will be promoted to MotoGP with LCR Honda.
Alex Rins confirmed with LCR Honda in Julybut the second seat in the LCR garage wasn’t confirmed until this week.
Born in 1992 in Chiba, Takaaki Nakagami made his MotoGP debut in 2018 with Team LCR Honda IDEMITSU and 2023 will be their 6th season together.
Takaaki Nakagami
“I am very happy to be able to continue racing MotoGP in 2023 with LCR Honda IDEMITSU. I would like to thank IDEMITSU and Honda HRC for their continued support.
“I am looking forward to next season, and I will give everything to achieve the best results with the team. Meanwhile, for the rest of this season, I will continue to work hard to improve my performance.“
Year by year, Nakagami has demonstrated consistent improvements and so far, during his 80 MotoGP races started: finished as Top Independent Driver 5 times and had 6. finish in the top 5.
Furthermore, Nakagami has amassed a Pole position and four Top starts in the top tier along with his 14 Moto2 World Championship crowns, including two wins.
Lucio Cecchinello
“We are delighted with this announcement, since 2020, Taka has proven to be a very fast racer that can fight for podium spots and this year he has continuously fought to the finish line. as the top Honda racer.
“I believe in his potential and thanks to his six years of experience riding a Honda RCV213, he will definitely help the Honda IDEMITSU LCR Team and HRC improve our bike package and close the gap with other riders. our competitors.. “
