The Japanese explained that the big change in front end downforce was so radical it will require re-🐽balancing the entire bike. Something the mixed Silverstone weather, including an all-wet Saturday, didn’t allow time for.

But 🐻the LCR rider still persisted with the new bodywork for Sunday’s grand prix in order to ‘collect data’ for HRC.

Starting 21st, Nakagami remained towards the tail of the field, prompting him to join Fabio di🧸 Giannantonio, Franco Morbidelli and Iker Lecuona in gambling on a switch to a wet weather bike when rain spots fell in the closing stages.

It didn’t pay off and theꦦ ꦗJapanese crossed the line in 16th place.

“We decided to race the new aero package and it makes sense because even in diff🌳icult conditions it's better to collect data to give HRC,” Nakagami said.

“Of course, the result an🐷d the performance is not super good. I'm disappointed. But at least🔯 I understood more about the aero package during the race.

“It was a really tough, difficult weekend,ღ but let's see in Austria.

“After the race we had a conversation with HRC and they said t💝hat they are thinking to prepare the two bikes with the new aero package for Austria.

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“✃This means, we will have time to understand mo🍬re and we can try many things to adapt to the new aero package.

“This weekend, unfortunately the weather was not helping and also e🅠specially this year's new practice🦂 format doesn't help.

“It's really difficult to adapt in such a very short🥃 time. But this is racing, so we need to keep working o🀅n it and to understand more deeply the new aero package.

“Because definitely HRC are believing in this direction. I don't know a💛bout the factory team, if they 🃏will homologate it or not, but we did it. So we have to keep using it.”

The obvious perk of more front downforce is a reduction in wheelies. While that’s not 🧔a particular issue at the fast and flowing Silverstone circuit, it could prove more beneficial at stop-go tracജks like Austria.

But Nakag🃏ami made clear the whole set-up and balance of the bi🐼ke needs to be changed to work with the new fairing and front wings.

“Definitely it's more downforce and then a lot les꧂s wheelie, but the lap time is not coming [here] because the turning and also the bike balance is so different,” he explained.

“It affected so much, the front feeling, but then also the rear, a lot less rear grip. And it was really difficult to create the righ൲t balance. They [HRC] have ideas to generate more rear grip. So we will try in Austria.”

The new fairing, which also features a wider ground-effect style lower section first pioneered by Aprilia, might also mean ඣa change in riding style.

“What I understood [here] is that we need to be riding more like a V [stop-go] style, also Ducati are using this kind of tജhe ri💟ding style and they are working pretty well,” Nakagami said. “But also HRC had the same idea.

“As✤ a rider we need to adapt to the new aero pa✤ckage, we need to understand how we can go fast. It will still take time to understand and to use such a high downforce on the front.”

But aero alone will not fix Honda’s current woes, with lead Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez only briefly featuring in Sunday’s 🎶top ten before joining team-mate Joan Mir ♚in crashing out.

Naka🐷gami’s temporary👍 team-mate Lecuona crossed the line in 17th.

“At the end, it’s a balance, not only downforce. They [Honda] need to improve ඣalso electronics. Also mecꦇhanical, rear grip, still we are missing a lot,” Nakagami said.

“I felt definitely less wheelie [with the 🍸new aero]. We can go with higher [engine] torque. 🤪But just before the traction area, still we are spinning too much and the bike starts to shake. So this makes less drive. That is the area where we lose a lot.

“Now we have ten days off and for sure HRC will try to understand more deeply. And hopefully, they have some ideas for how to use such high downforce and try to make a good balance on t🌄he bike in A🧸ustria.”

Nakagami is 17th in the world championship, with absent team-mate Alex Rins still the highest Honda, in 14th, 𝔉despite missing the last four ro🎃unds due to his fractured leg at Mugello.

Nakagami's original 2023 fairing (which remains officially available to him for the rest of the season, alongside the new design) can be seen below: