Why Takaaki Nakagami’s injury is a bigger problem for Honda than it seems

The crash suffered by Takaaki Nakagami at Motegi on Friday carries a significant degree of drama, both for the rider and for Honda, which has seen the development of next year’s MotoGP prototype seriously compromised.

Nakagami was due to contest what was very likely to have been his final wild-card outing, given that the exemptions allowing test riders to return to racing will be banned from next year onwards. That opportunity to bid farewell to his home fans, however, lasted just a handful of corners, as he negotiated a track made particularly treacherous by the rain that had fallen beforehand.

On his first run out on track, the Japanese rider was thrown from his bike at the corner before the circuit tunnel and hit the ground heavily, taking the full impact on his left shoulder. A few minutes later, before the opening practice session of the weekend had come to an end, Honda provided an update on his condition, confirming a fracture to his left collarbone that will require surgery. The rider will then begin a rehabilitation programme which, according to his team, could last more than a month.

“Taka has been very unlucky. He will need four or five weeks to recover, provided the operation goes well,” HRC team manager Alberto Puig said on Saturday.

On paper, a broken collarbone is not an especially serious problem. Maximo Quiles, for example, fractured his right collarbone at Silverstone in August, underwent surgery the following day and was able to win the next Moto3 race, in Aragon.

Nakagami’s case, however, is far more serious, both for the Japanese rider, who was unable to complete a single lap during what was supposed to be his farewell appearance, and for Honda, which was preparing to rely on him over the coming weeks to give its 2027 prototype one final push.

That is the bike which will make its track debut in Valencia during the test immediately after the final round of the season. The bike that will attract all the attention on the Tuesday when Fabio Quartararo rides it for the first time.

Nakagami retired at the end of 2024 and has since strengthened Honda’s ranks of test riders, remaining with the manufacturer he has represented throughout his career. Over the past year, his main focus has been the development of the bike designed for next season, which will feature a major change to the technical regulations and, above all, the introduction of 850cc engines.

Much of the responsibility for developing that new Honda has fallen on Nakagami. Even more so when taking into account that Aleix Espargaro, another of the Tokyo manufacturer’s test riders, suffered a serious spinal injury in mid-April and underwent complex surgery.

Following the operation, Espargaro was sidelined until two weeks ago, when he returned to a MotoGP bike during a private test at Mugello. In fact, Motorsport.com understands that the Spaniard considered the possibility of racing this weekend in Japan as a replacement for Joan Mir, who remains at home recovering from ongoing health problems.

However, the outcome of that test in Italy was Honda being advised against bringing him to Motegi, forcing the factory to call up Somkiat Chantra from WorldSBK. The problem is that the Thai rider will not be able to race next week in Mandalika, because the Indonesian Grand Prix clashes with the WorldSBK event at Estoril, Portugal.

That leaves Honda with little choice but to turn to Espargaro, who will have to travel to Lombok over the coming days.

Pending Nakagami’s recovery, the elder of the Espargaro brothers will have to divide his time between contesting the grands prix he is called upon to race and continuing his role as a reference point for Honda’s new 850cc machine.

While the test teams from Aprilia, Ducati, Yamaha and KTM will travel to Jerez to run on Wednesday and Thursday next week, Honda had planned to head to Sepang for two further days of testing the following week, on Wednesday and Thursday.

Nakagami was supposed to continue fine-tuning the RC214V there, but that plan was completely derailed on Friday when the Japanese rider was thrown into the air. It is a major blow on every level, especially given that the championship is now entering the crucial period in which the new bikes need to be finalised.

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– The Motorsport.com Team

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