The pilot of the LCR Honda Idemitsu, Takaaki Nakagamiwill miss the Argentine GP this weekend after testing positive for Covid-19 in a PCR test before traveling to Termas de Río Hondo.
As his team explained, the Japanese driver had no symptoms and had two more tests to make sure and they were all positive.
The Japanese rider will miss the Argentine GP this weekend but hopes to get back to the paddock for next week’s Americas GP in Austin.
For the Argentine GP Honda it was left with only two of its four factory riders because Nakagami’s defeat was accompanied by Marc Márquez to Repsol Honda and who in his case would be replaced by tester Setefan Bradl. LCR Honda will be left alone on the track with Alex Márquez.
Nakagami became the first driver to lose in 2022 due to the pandemic. In 2020 lost races due to contracting Covid-19, among others, Jorge Martín, Valentino Rossi or Riccardo Rossi (lost Arbolino and Iker Lecuona due to close contact) and in 2021 Tatsuki Suzuki, Héctor Garzó or Xavi Artigas.
The Japanese is the third rider on the MotoGP grid to miss a race due to the pandemic. In the winter holidays of 2020 Fabio Quartararo was also infected with Covid-19 and later this year Marc Márquez and Jack Miller.
Source: La Verdad
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