Another day of progress for Team HRC wildcard Tetsuta Nagashima as he overcame torrential rain and the hyper competitive MotoGP field. A best time of 1’57.229 secured the home hero 19th on the grid for his first race in the premier class.

Tetsuta Nagashima

Rider, MotoGP

“Today was my first day riding the MotoGP machine in the full wet. It was a lot of learning for me, I had to understand the Michelin rain tyre, how to use it and you can really see the level of the MotoGP riders in the wet. I had hoped to achieve more, but finally given my experience and the fact that we are here to collect data – 19th on the grid is not so bad. My objective is to finish the race to give the information to my engineers so we can keep developing the bike. I am really enjoying MotoGP.”