The big changes made to the Honda this year have not allowed the brand to get closer to European competitors. On the contrary, the gap seems to have widened and the RC213Vs even suffered a snub by not scoring any points at the GP of the Americas, long the preserve of Honda and the scene of its last success in MotoGP a year ago. For Joan Mir, the manufacturer has taken the wrong path in its development and Albert Puig can only agree with him.
“I think it’s pretty obvious that we’re not going in the right direction!” reacted the team manager, questioned by the official MotoGP website. “The results are the main sign of what is happening. We are not doing what was expected, honestly. We have certain ideas about why we are not there, there are two or three problems on the bike which probably affect performance the most.”
“We are on the path to trying to remedy this but it is not easy so far. We can understand that the drivers are not satisfied, that is obvious.”
By managing the racing team based in Europe, Puig remains distant from the development work carried out in Japan but he sees the manufacturer redouble its efforts and increase recruitment. The problem therefore does not come from a lack of involvement, but rather from optimistic simulations which do not translate into results on the track.
“The only thing I can say is that they are really trying in Japan, they are working on a lot of different things. They have brought new people into the group, we have more manpower. This It’s not like they’re sleeping, but on the other hand, we’re not there and the bike isn’t performing well.”
Joan Mir
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“We’ve made big changes to the bike, we’ve made good progress in theory but we can’t see it on the track. At the moment we’re a little lost: we try a lot but we don’t see anything really impressive on the track. It’s reality.”
Honda plans to continue these efforts over the coming weeks, taking particular advantage of the tests permitted by dealerships, which authorize the brand to run its holders outside of races but also to carry out more extensive driving than its European rivals.
“We will try to use all the possibilities available for development and we will never give up”promised Puig. “But we also really have to get to the point and make the bike work. There are a lot of efforts behind the scenes, we understand the frustration of the riders, so we are dedicated to fixing it.”
