Zarco, the winner, wasn't the only one who made Honda smile at the end of the crazy Le Mans race. On the day that the Japanese manufacturer broke Ducati's hegemony, Takaaki Nakagami also celebrated. Absent from racing since the last round in 2024, and present in France as a wild card, the 32-year-old rider was good at interpreting the complex conditions that occurred and, eventually, brought home an unhoped-for 6th place.
"Congratulations to Johann, because he was really fast," the test rider said. "As for me, like him, I had chosen to keep the wet tires. I tried to stay focused on my work, avoid possible falls and over-eagerness, and proceed with a steady pace. The race itself was chaotic, with everyone coming back to the pits to make bike changes. FIguring it all out was hard. Plus, there were so many laps to go, so I'm happy to have finished sixth. No one expected that. It was a nice surprise for the test team."
Speaking, instead, about what he learned in terms of set-up, the Japanese rider said: "In conditions like that, it's difficult to try new things. The basic set-up was the 2024 one while, on the electronics front, there were problems, because it didn't match up well with the new engine. In relation to the weather conditions, I had to change the mapping several times during the race, and I never got good feedback, especially from the traction control. On the positive side, we collected a lot of data and, hopefully, this will help improve speed."
Despite his self-restrained words, like a true Samurai, the Japanese rider fully celebrated his result, to the extent that, from a video he uploaded on his own and on HRC's Instagram page, between one pat on the shoulder and another that he received from mechanics and technicians when je returned to the pit, his airbag even deployed!