Takaaki Nakagami to make MotoGP return as Honda wild card at Motegi

Former full-time MotoGP rider will race in front of home fans at Motegi while continuing his role as Honda’s development rider.

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Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) has confirmed that Takaaki Nakagami will return to MotoGP as a wild-card entry at the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix, which takes place at Mobility Resort Motegi on 4 October.

The appearance will mark Nakagami’s first MotoGP race on home soil since stepping away from full-time competition at the end of the 2024 season.

The Japanese rider has been serving as an HRC Development Rider since 2025, playing a key role in the ongoing development of Honda’s MotoGP machine. His participation at Motegi will allow Honda to evaluate new developments under full race conditions while gathering valuable data in a competitive environment.

Nakagami first rose through the ranks after winning the GP125 class title in the All Japan Road Race Championship at just 14 years old, before progressing to the FIM Road Racing World Championship.

He claimed two victories in the Moto2 World Championship before graduating to MotoGP in 2018, where he competed as a full-time premier class rider for seven consecutive seasons through the end of 2024.

Speaking after the announcement, Nakagami said he was delighted to race in front of his home fans once again. “I am very pleased to have the opportunity to compete in the Grand Prix of Japan as a wild-card rider.”

He explained that his current focus remains on developing Honda’s MotoGP machine, adding that competing at Motegi provides an important opportunity to assess the progress made during testing in a race weekend environment.

Nakagami also described racing at his home Grand Prix as a special occasion and said his priority throughout the weekend would be to collect as much useful data as possible to help improve the competitiveness of Honda’s MotoGP project.

Honda has continued to expand its development programme throughout the 2026 season as the manufacturer prepares for MotoGP’s transition to the new 850cc regulations in 2027. Nakagami’s return at Motegi is expected to play an important role in refining the RC213V ahead of the sport’s next era.