LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami says he and the team “need to finish in the top 10” in races in the second half of the season, following a mixed start to his rookie MotoGP campaign.
The Japanese rider made a solid start to his year on the year-old RC213V, scoring points in four of the first five races, and making Q2 at Catalunya and the Sachsenring.
However, Nakagami has yet to add to his haul of 10 points since the French Grand Prix, and has slipped to 21st in the standings.
Content with the “feedback” he has been getting from the bike in the opening races, he admits he expected better results than he has been managing and has set his sights on regular top 10 in the second half of the season.
“Race by race, I start to get good feedback from the bike, and step by step we close a little bit the gap to the top, which is a good way,” Nakagami said.
“Still, I'm missing something, one piece, and I know that it's very difficult to get into the top five or the top six. But we need to finish in the top 10.
“This is our target, it's not easy but we can do it. Until now, I expect a little bit more better results, but unfortunately the last few races I crash or I miss the points.
“So just think about the second part of the season.”
Fellow rookie and Honda stablemate Franco Morbidelli – who looks odds on to join the Petronas Yamaha team next year as Marc VDS step away from the premier class – says he is close to the “maximum” potential of his bike, and is looking to exploit that in the remaining races.
“Tricky one, tricky first half of the season,” Morbidelli, who is top rookie in 17th on 19 points, admitted.
“We struggle a little bit, but anyway we get some good performances. I'm quite happy with the job we have done.
“Of course, it's not top seven or top five or top whatever. So we need to make the maximum with what we have, and I think we are quite close to the maximum.”
Teammate Tom Luthi has found the adaptation from Moto2 to MotoGP exceedingly difficult, and is the only rider alongside Avintia rookie Xavier Simeon to not score points so far this year.
The Swiss – who has been linked to Simeon's seat at Avintia for next year – says the “basic” speed of his Honda is what he need to improve on following the summer break.
“I need to find better speed. The basic speed of the bike is for sure a big, big step from Moto2 to MotoGP.
“It's also important to have a lot of confidence, and at the moment I cannot improve that basic speed, and that is what I'm working on.”
