is a Japanese retired Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Superbike rider. He is not related to the former Formula One racer Shinji Nakano.
Career
Early career Nakano was All-Japan 250cc champion in 1998, the highlight of a long career in both 125cc and 250cc Japanese national championships. Nakano moved to international competition full-time in 1999, adjusting to 250cc Grand Prix racing quickly, finishing fourth overall with five podium finishes. In 2000, Nakano and teammate Olivier Jacque battled with Daijiro Kato for the title, which ultimately went to Jacque. Nakano set the fastest 250cc lap at Motegi in 2000, a record that stood until 2008 – the longest standing lap record in the series.
250cc & 500cc/MotoGP World Championship
For 2001, the Tech 3 team moved up to the 500cc World Championship, which would eventually become MotoGP in 2002. Despite having semi-works machinery, Nakano managed to finish fifth in the championship and won the Rookie of the Year award. Nakano started 2002 on a 500cc two-stroke machine, but the team was able to provide the newer 990cc four-stroke by the end of the season. 2003 was less successful prompting a move to Kawasaki for 2004.
Kawasaki suffered a disastrous debut year with Garry McCoy and Andrew Pitt, before the team improved with Nakano on board. The team's first podium came at the 2004 Japanese Grand Prix and two seasons of consistent results earned him a pair of tenth place championship finishes. In 2006, Nakano was able to produce strong qualifying runs but less competitive races, a trait of the Bridgestone tyres. Two jump-start penalties did not help Nakano's results. At the 2006 Australian Grand Prix, Nakano started on the front row and lead the early laps, before switching to wet tyres too late and not being competitive on them.
For 2007, Nakano joined Konica Minolta Honda. Results were thin in 2007, with only a handful of top-ten qualifying and race results. Rumors began that Nakano might make the move to the highly competitive World Superbike Championship for the 2008 season. However, Nakano ultimately joined Fausto Gresini's MotoGP team, replacing Toni Elías. Bringing experience with Bridgestone tyres and Honda bikes, he had a solid season, scoring more points in the first half of 2008 than in the whole of 2007. At Brno, Nakano was given the factory spring-valve Honda RC212V, beginning a string of greatly improved results. Nakano left the Gresini team at the end of the 2008 season, following the team's decision to sign Alice Ducati rider Toni Elías for 2009.
Superbike World Championship In 2009, Nakano was signed by Aprilia along with Max Biaggi for their return to the World Superbike Championship after a three-year absence. He finished the season in 14th place. On October 28, 2009, Nakano announced that he would be retiring from professional motorcycle racing. The decision followed a season in which he had struggled with injury problems, including a broken collarbone and a neck injury that kept him out of the final three rounds of the season.
Career statistics
Grand Prix motorcycle racing
By season SeasonClassMotorcycleTeamRaceWinPodiumPoleFLapPtsPlcd 1998 250cc Yamaha YZR250 BP Yamaha Racing Team 2 0 1 0 0 33 19th 1999 250cc Yamaha YZR250 Chesterfield Yamaha Tech 3 16 1 5 2 1 207 4th 2000 250cc Yamaha YZR250 Chesterfield Yamaha Tech 3 16 5 12 3 7 272 2nd 2001 500cc Yamaha YZR500 Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3 15 0 1 0 1 155 5th 2002 MotoGP Yamaha YZR500Yamaha YZR-M1 Gauloises Yamaha Tech 3 16 0 0 0 0 68 11th 2003 MotoGP Yamaha YZR-M1 d'Antin Yamaha Team 16 0 0 0 0 101 10th 2004 MotoGP Kawasaki ZX-RR Kawasaki Racing Team 16 0 1 0 0 83 10th 2005 MotoGP Kawasaki ZX-RR Kawasaki Racing Team 17 0 0 0 0 98 10th 2006 MotoGP Kawasaki ZX-RR Kawasaki Racing Team 17 0 1 0 0 92 14th 2007 MotoGP Honda RC212V Konica Minolta Honda 18 0 0 0 0 47 17th 2008 MotoGP Honda RC212V San Carlo Honda Gresini 18 0 0 0 0 126 9th Total 167 6 21 5 9 1282
Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Class Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Pts 1998 250cc Yamaha JPN2 MAL ESP ITA FRA MAD NED GBR GER CZE IMO CAT AUS4 ARG 19th 33 1999 250cc Yamaha MAL3 JPN1 ESPRet FRA2 ITA5 CAT4 NED5 GBR3 GER4 CZE4 IMO5 VAL4 AUS4 RSA2 BRA15 ARG5 4th 207 2000 250cc Yamaha RSA1 MAL1 JPN3 ESP15 FRA2 ITA1 CAT3 NED3 GBR7 GER3 CZE1 PORRet VAL1 BRA4 PAC2 AUS2 2nd 272 2001 500cc Yamaha JPN5 RSA4 ESP4 FRA11 ITA8 CAT4 NED5 GBR6 GER3 CZEDNS POR9 VAL7 PAC6 AUS7 MAL4 BRA9 5th 155 2002 MotoGP Yamaha JPNRet RSA8 ESP17 FRA13 ITA11 CATRet NED8 GBR10 GER5 CZERet POR12 BRARet PAC16 MAL6 AUS13 VAL6 11th 68 2003 MotoGP Yamaha JPN9 RSA11 ESP8 FRA14 ITA5 CAT5 NED13 GBR9 GER7 CZE14 POR12 BRA8 PAC9 MAL8 AUS7 VALRet 10th 101 2004 MotoGP Kawasaki RSA12 ESP9 FRARet ITARet CAT7 NEDRet BRA9 GER7 GBR15 CZE12 POR11 JPN3 QATRet MAL8 AUS12 VAL7 10th 83 2005 MotoGP Kawasaki ESP5 POR8 CHNRet FRA8 ITA10 CAT9 NED8 USA9 GBRRet GER6 CZE12 JPNRet MALRet QAT7 AUS7 TUR10 VAL11 10th 98 2006 MotoGP Kawasaki ESP7 QAT11 TUR8 CHN8 FRA12 ITA11 CATDSQ NED2 GBRRet GER6 USARet CZE8 MALRet AUS8 JPNRet PORRet VAL7 14th 92 2007 MotoGP Honda QAT10 ESP10 CHN13 TURRet FRARet ITA13 CAT15 GBR14 NED12 GERRet USA12 CZE14 RSM10 POR11 JPN16 AUS13 MAL16 VAL14 17th 47 2008 MotoGP Honda QAT13 ESP9 POR10 CHN10 FRA10 ITA9 CAT9 GBR9 NED8 GER9 USA10 CZE4 RSM12 IND17 JPN8 AUS5 MAL5 VAL7 9th 126
Superbike World Championship
By season SeasonMotorcycleTeamRaceWinPodiumPoleFLapPtsPlcd Aprilia RSV4 Aprilia Racing 18 0 0 0 0 86 14th Total 18 0 0 0 0 86
Races by year (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Bike 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Pos Pts R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 R1 R2 2009 Aprilia AUS15 AUS12 QAT4 QAT7 SPADNS SPADNS NEDRet NEDDNS ITA13 ITA12 RSA7 RSA7 USARet USA7 SMR9 SMR13 GBR6 GBRRet CZERet CZE11 GERRet GERDNS ITA ITA FRA FRA POR POR 14th 86
References
External links