Home race confirmed: Honda test rider Taka Nakagami to race with a wildcard at Motegi

Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) has confirmed that test rider Takaaki Nakagami will once again ride a fifth RC213V for Honda as a wildcard rider, as he did in 2025. His last appearance yielded mixed results. The Japanese rider finished the Sprint in 14th place, ahead of a number of regular riders – but the veteran crashed during the Grand Prix. In previous years, Nakagami regularly competed on the MotoGP Honda in his home country – from 2018 to 2025, the rider from Chiba was part of Lucio Cecchinello’s customer team.

Since stepping down as a regular rider, Nakagami has been working as a test rider on development, particularly that of the new 850cc Honda. Due to the injury-enforced absence of his team-mate Aleix Espargaró, Nakagami has recently had to cover the test programme on his own.

Taka Nakagami kennt die MotoGP-Honda seit 2018

Foto: Gold and Goose

Nakagami, who will be competing on the 1000cc version at the start of the Motegi race, commented on his employer’s latest racing assignment: “I’m really delighted to have the opportunity to compete as a wildcard rider at the Japanese Grand Prix. At the moment, in my role as an HRC development rider, I am focusing on the further development of the MotoGP bike, and this event offers me a valuable opportunity to assess the progress we have made during testing under race conditions.”

The former regular rider’s race appearance could take on historic significance. This is because one of the many significant changes to the MotoGP regulations stipulates that wildcard entries will no longer be permitted from 2027 onwards. It is considered certain that no wildcard riders will be nominated for the upcoming overseas events in Indonesia, Australia and Malaysia. The same applies to the Qatar Desert GP, which is still in doubt. These are the final races of the 1000cc era in Europe, at Portimão and Valencia. If no manufacturer decides to field another rider here, Taka Nakagami’s appearance for Honda in October 2026 will go down in GP history as the last wildcard entry.

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07.08.2026 - 10:55