Career
Nagai raced in Japan"s All-Japan Road Racing Championship for many years, spending seven of them with Yamaha. Nagai took two pole positions in the Superbike World Championship. He was the first Japanese racer to take a Championship pole outside Japan (in Austria in 1995).
Nagai died two days after crashing at Assen, the Netherlands during the 1995 Superbike World Championship race.
Riding a Yamaha YZF750, he rode over oil spilled on the track by a Ducati 916. As he fell, his Yamaha landed on top of him.
Nagai"s injuries left him in a coma from which he never regained consciousness. He was 29 years old. Despite not taking part in the final two rounds, he was 5th overall in the 1995 standings.
Nagai was one of the first racers bringing the "Moon eyes" logo in the international racing circuits.
