Takaaki Nakagami
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is a Japanese former Grand Prix motorcycle racer, who competed for Idemitsu Honda LCR in the
MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...
class until retiring from competition after the 2024 season. Nakagami currently acts as a test rider for HRC based in Japan, and team liaison for Honda's Japanese and Italian teams in MotoGP from the 2025 season. He won the Japanese Road Race Championship 125cc class in 2006 and J-GP2 class in 2011.


Career


Early career

Born in Chiba, Nakagami joined the Japanese Road Race Championship in the GP125 category in 2005 joining the Harc-Pro Honda Team finishing 13th as a rookie in the series. He stayed in the Japanese 125cc championship for 2006 with Harc-Pro again, winning every race of the season; becoming the youngest-ever Japanese 125cc champion. Also in 2006, Nakagami joined the MotoGP Academy which gave him the chance to compete overseas for the first time in the Spanish CEV 125cc series. Nakagami finished in 12th position of the championship. His best result came in the second round at Jerez, finishing in 5th place. He decided to focus on the CEV 125cc championship in 2007 with the MotoGP Academy. Nakagami's results improved in 2007, and he finished in 6th place overall with a 3rd-place finish at Valencia as his best result. Nakagami also received his first 125cc World Championship wildcard entry at the final round of the season in Valencia, qualifying in 20th position but failing to finish the race. He impressed enough to secure a full-time ride in the 125cc World Championship for
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, joining the Italian I.C. Team riding an
Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle and Scooter (motorcycle), scooter manufacturer in Noale, Italy, founded by Alberto Beggio. History Early days Aprilia, named after the Pre-war automobile, pre-war Lancia Aprilia, was founded after the Seco ...
, he finished the season in 24th overall with a best finish of 8th place at
Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport Race track, circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, sti ...
. For
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, Nakagami joined another Italian team, Ongetta I.S.P.A., again on an
Aprilia RS125 The Aprilia RS125 is a GP derived replica sport production motorcycle. It is powered by a Rotax single cylinder 124.8 cc two-stroke engine with Nikasil coated aluminium cylinder block, and Internal combustion engine cooling#Liquid cooling, l ...
. He improved his overall performance, finishing 16th overall with his best results being two 5th places at a wet
Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
and at Donington Park. Despite having offers to remain in the 125cc championship in 2010, Nakagami decided to return to Japan and rejoin the Harc-Pro team, He won the
Suzuka 8 Hours The is a motorcycle endurance race held at the Suzuka Circuit in Japan each year. The race runs for eight hours consecutively, and entrants are composed of two or more riders who alternate during pitstops. History The race began in 1978 as a ...
in 2010 and competing the Japanese ST600 championship aboard a
Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...
. Nakagami won the first race of the season at
Tsukuba is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of January 1, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 256,526 in 121,001 households and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 wa ...
. He went on to finish 8th overall. He remained with Harc-Pro in 2012, but changed classes and entered the J-GP2 class aboard a Honda HP6. Nakagami won 5 of the 6 races during the season and the championship, despite not competing in the Okayama round due to injuries sustained when he was substituting at the Motegi Moto2 World Championship round for the Italtrans Racing Team.


Moto2 World Championship


Italtrans Racing Team (2012–2013)


=2012

= Nakagami did enough during his substitute display to earn a full-time ride for the Italtrans Racing Team in the 2012 Moto2 World Championship riding a
Kalex Kalex Engineering is a German specialty engineering company that designs, manufactures and sells high-performance parts for motorcycles. Kalex Engineering was founded in 2008 in the Bavarian city of Bobingen, Germany by Klaus Hirsekorn and Alex ...
with a Honda CBR600 engine. He finished his rookie season 15th in the standings with a best result of 5th at Jerez.


=2013

= For
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, Nakagami remained in Moto2 with Italtrans aboard a Kalex. At the opening round at Losail, Nakagami achieved his first podium in Grand Prix racing with a 3rd-place finish. At Le Mans, Nakagami earned his first pole position in Grand Prix racing. Nakagami achieved his second career Grand Prix podium with a second-place finish behind
Esteve Rabat Esteve "Tito" Rabat Bergada (born 25 May 1989) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racing, motorcycle racer. He is best known for winning the 2014 Moto2 World Championship. Rabat then made the move to MotoGP in 2016 and spent five full-time seas ...
at Indianapolis; he led most of the race but was passed in the closing laps and finished less than a second from victory. He took his second pole of the season at the Czech Grand Prix, at
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
; he went on to take his second successive second-place finish, behind
Mika Kallio Mika Kallio (born 8 November 1982) is a Finnish Grand Prix motorcycle racer, currently serving as the lead test and development rider for the Red Bull KTM team in MotoGP. He debuted in the 125cc World Championship with the Finnish rookie team ...
. He once again took pole at the
British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor racing event organised in the United Kingdom by Motorsport UK. First held by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) in 1926 British Grand Prix, 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 ...
at
Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority area of Northamptonshire, England. The village is about south-southwest of Towcester and northeast of Brackley, both accessed via the A43 road, A43 main ...
and again finished second, this time behind Championship leader and home rider
Scott Redding Scott Christopher Redding (born 4 January 1993) is a British motorcycle racer. For 2024, he is contracted to ride in the Superbike World Championship with satellite team Bonovo BMW, having left the BMW Motorrad factory team he rode for in 2023. ...
. At Misano, Nakagami finished second for the fourth race in a row; he led the majority of the race before he was passed by
Pol Espargaró Pol Espargaró Villà (; born 10 June 1991) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racing, Grand Prix motorcycle racer who for 2023 rode in the Grand Prix motorcycle racing, MotoGP class for the newly named GasGas Factory Racing team, a development ...
in the closing laps. He finished the season 8th overall with 149 points.


Idemitsu Honda Team Asia (2014–2017)


=2014

= For 2014, he signed to ride for
Tadayuki Okada Tadayuki 'Taddy' Okada (born February 13, 1967) is a Japanese former professional Grand Prix motorcycle road racer. He was runner-up in the 1994 250cc and in the 1997 500cc World Championship. Early career Okada won the 250cc All Japan Road Rac ...
's team, Idemitsu Honda Team Asia. A positive start to the season with a second-place finish at Qatar was denied as he was disqualified for technical reasons. Nakagami struggled for the rest of the year with bike set-up, and finished the season in 22nd position.


=2015

= Despite the struggles of 2014, Nakagami remained with Honda Team Asia for 2015. He managed to improve and finished on the podium in Misano, ultimately matching his 2013 result of 8th overall with 100 points.


=2016

= In 2016, he scored his first victory in Assen. He collected three third-place finishes and eight top-5 finished to end the season 6th in points, his overall best finish in the Moto2 class.


=2017

= Continuing with Honda Team Asia in 2017, he won at Silverstone and claimed three third-place finishes, and ranked 7th in points.


MotoGP World Championship


LCR Honda Idemitsu (2018–2024)


=2018

= Nakagami moved up to
MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...
in
2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...
, signing with
LCR Team LCR Team is a motorcycle racing team competing in the MotoGP World Championship under the name Castrol Honda LCR with rider Johann Zarco and Idemitsu Honda LCR with rider Somkiat Chantra, as well as the MotoE World Cup under the name LCR E-Tea ...
to ride a year-old Honda remaining with Idemitsu sponsorship. With regular finishes in the low point-scoring positions, he completed his rookie season with 33 points, and 20th in the championship.


=2019

= In October 2018, it was confirmed that Nakagami would remain at LCR Honda on a 2018-spec machine for the
2019 MotoGP season The 2019 FIM MotoGP World Championship was the premier class of the 71st F.I.M. Road Racing World Championship season. After fifteen rounds of the championship, Marc Márquez successfully defended his Rider's Championship in Thailand taking hi ...
beside teammate
Cal Crutchlow Cal Crutchlow (born 29 October 1985) is an English professional motorcycle racer who retired from regular competition after the 2020 season. He is contracted as a test rider for Yamaha Motor Racing, which he is expected to continue in 2022 and 2 ...
. In the first half of the season he regularly achieved top 10 finishes, but a heavy crash at the
Dutch TT The Dutch Tourist Trophy, also known as the ''TT Assen'', and also sometimes known as the Dutch Motorcycle Grand Prix, is an annual Dutch motorsport event established in 1925 for road racing motorcycles held on the TT Circuit Assen, also known ...
and a subsequent shoulder injury led to a drop in form. He elected to prematurely end his season after his home Grand Prix to undergo surgery repairing his damaged shoulder, and recover before the 2020 season. He was replaced for the final three rounds by KTM-exile
Johann Zarco Johann Sylvain Pierre Zarco (born 16 July 1990) is a French Grand Prix motorcycle racer, best known for winning the and Moto2 World Championships with his 2015 triumph being a record points total for the intermediate class. He is a MotoGP rac ...
. Nakagami ultimately finished the season in 13th position with 74 points, more than doubling his point tally from his rookie season.


=2020

= In mid-October 2019, LCR Honda confirmed Nakagami would remain with the team for another season on a year-old machinery in
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
. After opening round crashes and subsequent injuries for teammate Crutchlow and Honda factory rider
Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who races for the Ducati Lenovo Team. He previously raced for the Ducati satellite team Gresini in 2024 and Honda's factory team from his MotoGP deb ...
, Nakagami quickly emerged as Honda's top rider in the first half of the season, finishing as the top Honda rider (always within the top 10) and scoring all manufacturer's championship points for the marque in the first eight rounds. At the Teruel Grand Prix, Nakagami qualified on pole position, the first pole for a Japanese rider in nearly 16 years. He finished the year 10th in the championship, with 116 points.


=2021

= In October 2020, based on his strong early season performances, Honda and LCR announced that Nakagami would remain with the team at least until the end of 2022 (his first multi-year contract in the MotoGP class) and would receive factory-spec machinery from 2021. Unfortunately for Nakagami, the 2021 Honda bike was one of the weakest in recent years, with Honda drivers regularly finishing on the cusp, or sometimes even outside the top 10. Nakagami's season high result was a 4th place in Jerez, overall ending the season just 15th in the standings, with 76 points, 6 in front of teammate
Álex Márquez Álex Márquez Alentà (born 23 April 1996) is a Grand Prix motorcycle rider from Spain racing for Ducati satellite team BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP. He has competed in MotoGP since the 2020 season, having previously become World Champion in th ...
.


=2022

= Nakagami stayed with the LCR team for 2022. It was the same story in 2022 as Honda's new machine failed to deliver an upturn in results. With a best finish of 7th he ended the season 18th in the standings with 48 points 2 points behind teammate Alex Marquez.


=2023

= Nakagami stayed with the same team for the 2023 season, partnering his 2023 teammate
Álex Rins Álex Rins Navarro (born 8 December 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team in the MotoGP class. He was the 2011 CEV Buckler 125 Junior GP Champion, and made his Grand Prix motorcycle racing de ...
. He finished p18 in the standings with 56 points 2 ahead of teammate
Álex Rins Álex Rins Navarro (born 8 December 1995) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle racer for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team in the MotoGP class. He was the 2011 CEV Buckler 125 Junior GP Champion, and made his Grand Prix motorcycle racing de ...


=2024

= Nakagami continued with LCR Honda, this time partnering with Johann Zarco. This was his last season in MotoGP as he opted to retire after seven full time seasons, to become a Honda factory test rider in 2025 moving into a new role in Japan.


Honda HRC Test Team (2025–)


=2025

= Nakagami entered the 2025 French motorcycle Grand Prix as a wildcard for the Honda team, and finished an impressive 6th in a weather-affected race.


Career statistics


Grand Prix motorcycle racing


By season


By class


Races by year

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) Season still in progress.


Suzuka 8 Hours results


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nakagami, Takaaki 1992 births Living people Japanese motorcycle racers 125cc World Championship riders Moto2 World Championship riders Sportspeople from Chiba (city) Motorcycle racers from Chiba Prefecture LCR Team MotoGP riders MotoGP World Championship riders