Once undisputed masters of the MotoGP grid, Honda and Yamaha have seen their supremacy erode in the face of the rise of European manufacturers. Oscar Haro, former LCR Honda team principal, shares his analysis of the reasons for this dramatic decline in the “Fast & Curious” podcast.
« What happened here is an accumulation of circumstances” , explain
Haro. « Honda had a trajectory with a dominant bike because they had the best riders and the best bike. Then suddenly, there was a global pandemic and the world stopped. »
Haro highlights the difference in reaction to the health crisis between Latin or European cultures and Japanese culture. The Latin or European character has made us ‘don’t stop us’ ; the evolution continued, the work continued somewhat in secret. In Japan, the culture is radical, so
They were completely stopped for a year, but really stopped. No one went to the factories, there was no communication. Many engineers were stuck in Europe and couldn’t even return home. They lived in Andorra for almost a year. SO,
it was a collapse, there was no evolution. »
Oscar Haro : « in MotoGP, if you get stopped for a week, you get lost. So imagine a year »
This forced pause led to disastrous consequences. “ On top of that, MotoGP has taken a step forward in terms of aerodynamics and the way to ride a motorcycle.
Motorcycles are now much wider, much lower, with much more aerodynamic load« , observe Haro. This rapid transition caught Japanese brands off guard. Because they were blocked, arrested for a year, and here, if you get stopped for a week, you get lost. So imagine a year. »
The wound of
Marc Marquezthe flagship driver of
Hondaalso played a crucial role in this decline. This was added to Marc’s accident – Honda’s star rider, the one who always won – a very serious accident, very difficult, with a very complicated injury that took a long time to heal. So,
they were caught off guard. »
The revelations ofOscar Haro on motorcyclesports show that the fall of
Honda et
Yamaha is the result of a series of combined factors, from the pandemic to technological advances and injuries to key riders, which have challenged the Japanese giants’ dominance in MotoGP.
