For Takaaki Nakagami, the 2023 MotoGP season was nearly a carbon copy of his performance in 2022: the same final position (18th) and only six more points gained. It’s noteworthy that he only suffered one retirement, but his performance was hampered by the common difficulties faced by all Honda riders.
The LCR Honda rider started with a 12th place at the Portugal GP, followed by 13th in Argentina, before experiencing his only retirement of the season at the Americas GP. Moving into the European leg, Nakagami achieved a consistent streak of five main race finishes, securing points in all of them – three of which were within the top ten.
This trend continued until the Dutch GP before the summer break, where he achieved his best result of the season with an eighth-place finish. However, the return from the break wasn’t favorable: Nakagami only scored in six more races (half of the GPs) and never returned to the top ten results.
The final phase of the year was particularly challenging for the Japanese rider, as he only scored in two out of the last five rounds. In the Sprint races, he never reached the top nine positions that qualify for points, placing him among the two regular riders in this situation.
Although it wasn’t an outstanding year, Nakagami’s performance was somewhat excusable due to Honda’s significant difficulties. However, there’s a feeling that more could have been achieved: he ended the season just two points ahead of his teammate Álex Rins, who missed several races due to injury. On the other hand, he outperformed the official Honda rider Joan Mir, who finished only 22nd. The upcoming year will be another litmus test for Nakagami, who showed in 2020 that he could consistently fight for the top ten but has experienced a performance decline since then. There’s no shortage of candidates for his position, which means pressure will be on in 2024.
Takaaki Nakagami’s 2023 season:
Portugal GP: 15th Sprint/12th GP – 14th in the championship
Argentina GP: 11th Sprint/13th GP – 15th in the championship
Americas GP: 13th Sprint/DNF in GP – 17th in the championship
Spain GP: DNF in Sprint/9th GP – 17th in the championship
France GP: 10th Sprint/9th GP – 17th in the championship
Italy GP: 17th Sprint/13th GP – 16th in the championship
Germany GP: 17th Sprint/14th GP – 17th in the championship
Dutch GP: 12th Sprint/8th GP – 16th in the championship
British GP: 20th Sprint/16th GP – 17th in the championship
Austria GP: DNF in Sprint/18th GP – 17th in the championship
Catalunya GP: 20th Sprint/15th GP – 17th in the championship
San Marino GP: 21st Sprint/19th GP – 17th in the championship
Indian GP: 13th Sprint/11th GP – 18th in the championship
Japan GP: 17th Sprint/11th GP – 18th in the championship
Indonesia GP: 11th Sprint/11th GP – 18th in the championship
Australia GP: 19th GP (no Sprint) – 18th in the championship
Thailand GP: 19th Sprint/14th GP – 18th in the championship
Malaysia GP: 19th Sprint/18th GP – 19th in the championship
Qatar GP: 18th Sprint/19th GP – 19th in the championship
Valencia GP: 16th Sprint/12th GP – 18th in the championship