Honda’s strategic wildcard with Takaaki Nakagami in MotoGP at Motegi

At Silverstone, Augusto Fernandez returned as a wildcard with Yamaha, completing the development program of the contemporary 1000cc YZR-M1V in a race weekend.

Honda will do so at its home Grand Prix at Motegi, fielding an RC213V for Takaaki Nakagami, who will be the last rider in HRC history to compete as a wildcard in a world championship event. Banned since 2027, the home event will celebrate this anniversary, with an eye to the future.

Takaaki Nakagami has been responsible for the development of the future Honda RC214V 850cc throughout 2026. With Aleix Espargaro sidelined due to injury, the Japanese rider has toured extensively between Motegi, Sepang, and various European tracks, specializing in riding an 850cc machine and Pirelli tires. For this home wildcard, however, he will occasionally return to the 1000cc RC213V with Michelin tires, leaving nothing to chance, so much so that Honda has already organized a test day at Motegi three weeks before the race weekend.

This wildcard won't just be a mere reward for 'Taka' and to honor his home Grand Prix. Wherever possible, Nakagami's RC213V will be equipped with solutions that will prove useful for the upcoming 850cc machine. In fact, it will clearly not represent a crucial test bench, but rather a useful test race to verify its suitability in terms of wear, reliability, and grip during the hectic schedule of a MotoGP weekend. Otherwise, his RC213V will have no changes to comply with the current 1000cc regulations: despite having relegated to the Grade D concessions, development has been put on hold pending the new regulatory era.