Mir feels the concessions have not yet had an effect for Honda

Yamaha and Honda benefited from big technical advantages in 2024, thanks to the new concession system. The two brands could do more tests outside of racing, on more circuits and by involving their owners, upgrade their engines and use more of them, approve an additional fairing and enter more wild cards.

All these freedoms are intended to accelerate the development of the motorcycle, with modest effects for the moment since the Japanese manufacturers scored even fewer points than in 2023. For Honda, the total was divided by more than two and According to Joan Mir, the concessions have not yet had the slightest effect on the performance of his bike.

According to the Majorcan, Honda would have been “probably at the same level” in 2024 without these technical advantages. “This will help us for the next [saisons]”added Mir. “But in the short term, I think we had no advantage. We see it in the results. We have to find the direction to bring good pieces in order to be faster. For the moment, we don’t couldn’t get them.”

Whether or not it is linked to concessions, Luca Marini nevertheless saw Honda progress in 2024. “It’s clearly a difficult period but I think the results have improved a lot compared to the start of the year”said Mir’s teammate in the official team, seeing an evolution between the two visits to Barcelona, ​​in the spring then at the end of the season: “You just have to look at the race we did here in May and our current performances: they have improved noticeably. Obviously, we now have to achieve another step of the same magnitude.”

Honda and Yamaha have in fact remained clearly behind the European manufacturers this year. Joan Mir in any case doubts the effects of certain concessions on performance: “The fact that the regular riders can do more tests, I don’t think it’s an advantage, because if the bike improves, I will be faster. That’s why we have the team ‘tests: if you try something and spend all day on it, between a week [de course] and another, we don’t rest mentally.”

“If you do a test, a race, a test, a race, sometimes it’s worse. That’s probably why there’s a test team, which has been really strengthened. I think he We have to make them work to get real things. What they find effective, we test it on a GP and see if it’s better.”

Honda has indeed made great efforts to restructure its testing team. Stefan Bradl will remain in place but he will be joined by Aleix Espargaró, accompanied by his chief mechanic to bring their experience from the development of the Aprilia, while Takaaki Nakagami will now be in charge of testing in Japan, and will try to ensure the link with the structure based in Europe.

“We have to get organized”summed up Mir, believing that progress has been made for the test team: “I think they’ve already organized it a little differently for next year. The test team wasn’t enough, we only had one test driver and honestly, we could do a lot, They are doing it a lot, a lot and I think it will help a lot for next year.”

With Lena Buffa