Nakano back on a Grand Prix bike

After 13 seasons as a professional of which 11 were in the World Championship, Shinya Nakano announced his retirement from competition last October. The 2000 250cc World Championship runner-up has maintained his contact with the sport since then in his new capacity as head of public relations for the Grand Prix of Japan, and a few weeks ago he put on his leathers once more.

This time out Nakano’s activity was for a test organised by Mobilityland, the promoters of the GP of Japan, in which journalists were able to ride Moto2 bikes manufactured by Moriwaki, TSR and Burning Blood at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit.

“I have to say that this has been a pleasant surprise. I had thought that the bike would be like a Honda CBR but it really it is a race bike. It’s very close to both the MotoGP and 250cc machines,” said Nakano after his first contact with the 600cc Moto2 machine.

“The feelings from the bike and the need to work on the tuning are going to ensure that good MotoGP riders will emerge. The equality on the mechanical side will also allow us to see a lot of fun racing,” added Nakano.

Nakano came close to glory with the Tech3 team in 2000 when he was runner-up in the 250cc category, and the squad have developed their own prototype for the Moto2 class.

“I know them well, they like to work on testing their own solutions, but in MotoGP they can’t do that because they have to comply with the directions of the manufacturer,” he said. “Now they can develop their imagination, and I am convinced they can do a great job.”