IN
THE
WIND
P42
HONDA CONFIRMS MOTOGP RIDES
T
wo more pieces of the Mo-
toGP jigsaw fell into place
before the start of the British GP
at Silverstone, August 27, with
riders confirmed for both inde-
pendent Honda teams.
Most surprising was the rider
filling the vacant seat at the
EG VDS team: long-serving
Moto2 rider Thomas Luthi, at
30 years old. The Swiss former
FIM 125 Champion (2005) will
join his current Moto2 title rival
Franco Morbidelli to make a
double-rookie team to replace
Jack Miller and Tito Rabat,
both bound for Ducatis, Miller
with the factory-allied Pramac
squad.
"I always thought that if I got
good results in Moto2, I might
get my chance," said Luthi.
But he had to wait, having
spent three years on a 250
Aprilia then a further seven-
and-a-half on a Moto2. His best
result on a 250 was second, but
he had won nine Moto2 races
by the end of last year to finish
second overall.
The second announcement
confirmed long-standing ru-
mors that Takaaki Nakagami will
join Cal Crutchlow as the LCR
Team, once again, expands to
two riders.
Nakagami (25) is a one-time
Moto2 race winner, but has
fallen short of expectations this
year, lying seventh overall with
three third places. He has not
lost the support of HRC, howev-
er, backing his move to MotoGP
in a continued desire to see
Japanese riders succeed in the
premier class.
Crutchlow's contract from next
year is directly with HRC, under-
lining the factory's support for
the satellite team.
Michael Scott
Thomas Luthi has
been signed to ride
a Honda in MotoGP
next year.
PHOTOGRAPHY
BY
GOLD
&
GOOSE
