Rd.14 GRAN PREMIO MOVISTAR DE ARAGÓN: Sunday, September 24, 2017
Weather: Dry Ambient: 26℃ / Track: 37℃
IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia rider Takaaki Nakagami finished 8th place to secure 8 championship points at the Aragon Grand Prix today. Malaysian Teammate Khairul Idham Pawi retired from the race on Lap 16 due to a mechanical failure.
At 12:40 pm, Nakagami started the race from 10th grid on Row 4. Although the Japanese rider, who had already set the 4th quickest time in this morning’s Warm Up, lost contact with the leaders in the beginning, he regained consistent pace and chased the frontrunners hard until the end.
Meanwhile, Pawi suffered from inconsistent engine revs and decided to go back to the pit box because he thought it was too dangerous to continue.
Race weekend for the next race, the Japanese Grand Prix, commences on October 13 at TwinRing Motegi, with Free Practice 1 for the intermediate class starting at 10:55 am local time (GMT +9).
Takaaki Nakagami （8th, 40’17.534 / +7.630）
“I lost some positions and couldn’t gain a good pace in the opening lap, which is why I finished where I did today. If I had ridden more aggressively in the beginning, I would have had better results, because I set a very competitive pace in the final stages. Now I realize I have to improve this area, and I think it is a positive thing that I learned from this race. I will fix this issue to be able to fight for victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.”
Khairul Idham Pawi （DNF, 29’23.400 / +6Laps）
“Right after the start, I had a strange feeling with the engine’s revs. It was not consistent and really difficult for me to control. I would have liked to have finished the race, but I had to go back to the pit box, and decided to retire because I thought it was dangerous to keep on riding. For the next race in Motegi, I will do my best again.”
Tadayuki Okada – Team Manager
“We knew Taka has a strong pace in the second half of the race, but he was not fast enough in the opening laps, which cost us today’s race. In Motegi, he can improve this area to be competitive to get good results. For Pawi, I feel sorry for him because we had expected him to improve his best lap time in the race, but the mechanical issue hampered our plans. We will look into what the cause of this issue was in order to be well prepared for Motegi.”