Nakagami was "scared" by Marquez's Germany MotoGP warm-up crash
LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami admits he was left “scared” for the MotoGP German Grand Prix after following Marc Marquez when he crashed in warm-up.
Marquez endured a miserable weekend at the Sachsenring in which he crashed five times, the last one leaving him with a small fracture on his thumb.
The eight-time world champion ultimately withdrew from Sunday’s race, leaving Nakagami as the only Honda rider on the grid.
Following Marquez at the time he crashed in Sunday’s warm-up session, Nakagami says the Spaniard “wasn’t overriding” and he was left spooked by the incident.
“Very tough weekend,” Nakagami began.
“Unfortunately, after the warm-up, only one rider at Honda. I was behind Marc and I saw that nasty crash.
“I was behind him. From behind, looks… I mean, he wasn’t overriding. He didn’t miss the apex, looked nice.
“Just he lost the rear somehow. He had a massive highside. When I saw this, honestly I was scared because it’s the same bike and a couple of times I had the same feeling.
“Fortunately, I didn’t have a highside, but a couple of times it was close.”
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team crash
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Nakagami took the chequered flag in Sunday’s race in 14th having ended the sprint in 17th.
Given the limitations of the 2023 Honda, Nakagami said he “couldn’t ride better” and is now relying on HRC bringing updates after the summer break to try and improve the situation.
“It’s difficult to say, but the weekend, we couldn’t find any solutions,” he added.
“We are quite far from where we want to be and the gap is massive. But I couldn’t ride better, because the problem is I was slow, but the limit is there.
“I felt the front was always closing, the rear is really unstable, and the bike is always moving, shaking, and it’s difficult to keep pushing.
“I have to take a step back and at least see the chequered flag, because I know this is important for myself and Honda because if I get injured there’s no one on the grid for Honda!
“So, at least I got to give some data to them to help them developing. They understand what the problem is, where they need to improve.
“We don’t have time for Assen, but after the summer break we believe they will bring something to help.”
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