A factory team debut for Takaaki Nakagami as Joan Mir aims to continue his form from Aragon at one of the MotoGP World Championship’s most iconic tracks.
Some 40 kilometres north of Florence, the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello holds an infamous place in the MotoGP World Championship as the home of Italian racing. Fast and flowing corners, a blisteringly quick straight and a legendary run to Turn 1, Mugello stands as a track which captures the hearts and minds of riders and fans alike.
With a well-earned seventh place last time out, Joan Mir travels to Italy aiming for more speed and more points. Consistently able to run inside the top ten throughout practice and qualifying this year, the #36 finally shook his Sunday luck to deliver a third top ten of the season. When mistakes and incidents are avoided, Mir clearly has the setup to fight for top Honda honours and continue pushing the RC213V forward. Having shown his clear speed and progress, the Italian GP will be the perfect opportunity to continue his ever-improving results. Third in 2021, the 2020 MotoGP World Champion is no stranger to excelling in Mugello.
Takaaki Nakagami will make his debut as a Honda HRC Castrol rider as he fills in for the recovering Luca Marini. Alongside his wildcard in Le Mans, the #30 has been hard at work with the Honda HRC Test Team to help plot the course for the future of the Honda RC213V and continues to clock up the testing miles. The Italian GP will give the Japanese test rider more valuable time on the bike in race conditions to help with further development and keep him sharp for future appearances. Fifth place in 2019 stands as Nakagami’s best premier class finish in Mugello.
Luca Marini continues to recover well; the Italian having returned home to Italy during the Aragon GP weekend. Eager to return as soon as possible and undergoing regular assessments on his condition, Marini and the team remain in constant contact about his return once full recovered.
Joan Mir
“Coming off our best Sunday of the year so far, I’m looking to make the most of Mugello. It’s a great circuit to ride and I am sure the battle there will be very tight. There are some areas where I think we can be quite strong, and it will be interesting to see how our bike does on the straight with the faster entry. It’s now a really busy part of the year so we need to work hard and keep our momentum up.”
Takaaki Nakagami
“First, I want to wish Luca all the best with his recovery. It’s a pleasure, an honour, to join the factory Honda HRC Castrol team – thank you to Honda HRC for opportunity. The Test Team and I have been working hard in Japan for the future but this weekend the focus will be a little bit different. I have enjoyed riding Mugello in the past and have gotten some strong results as well. Let’s see what we can do and how we can help the team during the Italian GP.”
