Honda has not started the 2024 MotoGP season as it wanted. The Japanese brand is mired in an unprecedented results crisis, which has meant that this year it receives advantages thanks to the new concession system of the premier category. but the things seemed to change in the preseason, when in the Valencia test and in the winter tests the RC213V seemed to take steps forward.
However, it was a utopia. The house with the golden wing is not able to get out of the bottom of the grid, it is even behind Yamaha, and accumulates only 13 points in the constructors’ standings after eight races held, 14 of those from Iwata. In the team table, Repsol Honda has 12 points, almost a third of Yamaha’s 31, while LCR is bottom, with 9.
The points reflect the delicate moment of HRC, which must add to the lack of level that it is not finding the right path with the bike. Joan Mir set off alarms in Austin, stating that Honda had made a mistake with the direction to follow with this year’s machine -pointing, although without saying so, to the engine-, a version that has been corroborated by other drivers of the brand, such as Johann Zarco.
In the Jerez test after the Spanish GP, Honda offered its riders a motorcycle developed by Stefan Bradl in the test team, but the Frenchman left it “on hold” due to lack of performance, while the 2020 world champion clarified the direction he wants to follow, a path that does not go towards that new RC213V either.
Precisely, Alberto Puigdirector of the Repsol team, spoke about the development work that Honda is currently carrying out, starting from Bradl’s motorcycle, and highlighted the importance of the collective tests on the Andalusian track.
“I can say more or less what we have been saying in recent months. We are trying many, many things, and we are trying to find a solution, because we are still not clearly where we want to be“, the Spaniard began by saying to the international development of MotoGP. “We have four drivers and we are trying to use them all to try different things. So everyone is trying different things. “We’re trying to find the best possible combinations, of course.”
Joan Mir
Unlike the riders, Puig did get good things from the new machine tested in Jerez: “Stefan Bradl tested the bike and we collected a lot of data. The sensations were good. Not bad. It’s not perfect, there are things to improve… I can’t give a specific comment, but I think the Jerez Test is very important, because we have all four drivers trying different things, different combinations, and I think at the end of the day we will have some important conclusions.”
When asked if these developments will represent a big step or a small one, Puig stated that the introduction of improvements does not give an immediate answer: “If we can understand the direction to follow, we can try to take steps forward. Of course, many of the things you discover are not automatic. I mean, you probably won’t be able to use them in the next grand prix, but you can start preparing other parts“.
“We have to continue doing what we are doing. We are working hard. Honda is not sleeping, this is something I have to say. The only thing certain is that we have not yet been able to find the direction we expect and want.“he concluded, confirming that Honda still has to work to get out of the hole.
