Nagashima impresses on WorldSBK debut, MotoGP bike ‘more difficult’

Nagashima recently substituted for Takaaki Nakagami in MotoGP following a maiden appearance in the premier class at Aragon as a wildcard.

And after showing good speed, the Japanese rider, who led Honda’s charge to victory at the Suzuka 8 hour race in August, was called up to replace Iker Lecuona after the Spaniard was ruled out of the season-finale earlier this week. 

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Inside the top ten during FP1, Nagashima made even more steps forward in FP2 as he began to challenge for a top five position late on.

Nagashima eventually finished sixth after Andrea Locatelli managed to overhaul the Japanese rider - Nagashima finished +0.148s behind the Italian and seven tenths off Jonathan Rea, who topped both sessions for Kawasaki.  

A very happy Nagashima was surprised at his level of performance, even after riding at Phillip Island last month for LCR Honda in MotoGP: "No, I’m not expecting this [sixth place]! I felt good today; P6 in FP2 is not bad. 

"I was expecting to struggle a little more because this is my first time here in WorldSBK and pretty much my first time on Pirelli tyres. 

"I raced here a few weeks ago in MotoGP of course, and that helped a bit in that I was immediately able to find pace with the CBR. I think the MotoGP bike is a little bit more difficult. 

"When I ride the Superbike, it was a bit easier because I have experience from the Suzuka 8 Hours with a bike I know well."

Given this is Nagashima’s first taste of WorldSBK machinery, the decision from Pirelli to introduce three new rear tyre options will have little effect on him as the standard SCX and SC0 compounds that other riders are familiar with - both are not available in Australia - have not been used by Nagashima before.

Still, adapting to Pirelli tyres was one of the biggest challenges he faced: "The main thing was adapting to the tyres and to the set-up for this package,” continued Nagashima. 

"There are still some things we can work on because I made just one fast lap. I need to improve my pace too, because the race is 22 laps, so we need consistency. 

"I don’t honestly know what to expect from the rest of the weekend in terms of results, but you can be sure I’ll do my very best. 

"The team is working hard and everything is going very smoothly so far. I already knew some of the guys from my time in Moto2 so the team is like family and I felt good right away. I’m really enjoying the weekend and this WorldSBK experience."

Xavi Vierge close to a second off WorldSBK debutant Nagashima

While Vierge was making his first appearance at Phillip Island aboard a Superbike, the gap between himself and his fellow rookie for the weekend was a sizable one.

Vierge, who was towards the bottom of the leaderboard during the early stages of FP2, finished ninth tenths down on Nagashima on a weekend where the Spaniard needs to deliver as Honda look to hold off BMW for fourth in the Manufacturer’ standings - the gap is currently three points.

After struggling to find performance, Vierge said: "Today has been challenging for us, also because it’s a long time since I last raced here at Phillip Island. 

"FP1 was not so bad, and we regained confidence with the track and with the bike at this track. Then we tried a set-up change for FP2 but it didn’t work as we’d hoped. 

"Luckily the team was able to react very quickly, and we were able to make a final run that proved much more positive in terms of feeling, even with a very used tyre. 

"So we rounded out the day on a positive note and tomorrow we should be able to head straight in the right direction. 

"With one eye on the weather though, because today we were blessed with almost ideal conditions but the forecast for the rest of the weekend is not so good."