Challenging #PortugueseGP sees Taka Nakagami 16th after a crash

Takaaki Nakagami finished in sixteenth position in the Portugal Grand Prix after a tough MotoGP race at the Algarve International Circuit on Sunday. The LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider made a promising start, but ultimately ended outside of the points positions after a mid-race collision forced him to re-join at the back of the field.

Departing from the sixth row, the Japanese star made a good getaway from the line and had moved up into 12th after the first few corners. Approaching the midway point, he was battling with Brad Binder just outside of the top 10, but made contact with the back of the KTM bike and slid out. Although he re-joined and saw the chequered flag, the incident ended his hopes of a points finish.

Takaaki Nakagami

I had a good start and I was in a good position on the first lap. I was stuck behind (Brad) Binder and Pol (Espargaro) and had good pace and confidence on the bike. But on that lap at turn 13, unfortunately I hit Binder’s rear tyre with my handlebar and I lost the front and had a crash. I was able to re-join, and from that moment on I pushed as much as possible and my pace was pretty consistent – I managed a couple of 1’39s. It’s a shame we lost another good opportunity as we could have had a good race today. I’m really looking forward to the next race in Jerez as it’s one of my favourites, so let’s restart there. We definitely have good potential in Jerez.