From the friendly Marc Márquez’s accident at the season opener on March 19, 2020delayed due to Covid, Honda executives are atoning for a series of long-standing failures. After all, thanks to the exceptional talent of Marc Márquez, Honda defeated all opponents from 2013 to 2019 and won six of the seven world titles.
In the frenzy of these successes, HRC bosses apparently failed to realize that the magnificent triumphs of the Spaniard, who won his second Grand Prix in Texas as a rookie in 2013 and outclassed all rivals in the first ten Grands Prix of 2014, they had more to do with the rider than with the Honda RC213V.
The HRC Kanazawa boss had already made a similar mistake in 2003, when he refused to recognize Valentino Rossi’s exceptional riding skills, serial winner, and thought any novice could dominate with the superior 990cc five-cylinder Honda RC211V.
The result was that Rossi dropped out to go to Yamaha, where won the 2004 season opener at Welkom and then the 2004, 2005, 2008 and 2009 world championships. Honda won only two titles in the nine years from 2004 to 2012, with Nicky Hayden in 2006 and with Casey Stoner in 2011.
Incidentally, Kanazawa is said to have been transferred to the lawnmower department following Rossi’s departure from Honda.
HRC has experienced similarly lean years in MotoGP after Marc Márquez’s disaster at the 2020 Spanish GP (0 points in the season). Although Márquez still won the three Grands Prix at Sachsenringin Texas it’s at Misano in 2021 finishing seventh in the championship, since then he has achieved only these results in the World Championship: 13th in 2022 (with 113 points) and 14th in 2023 (with a measly 96 points).
He reiterated at the time repeatedly and unequivocally who expected a winning bike from Honda, but the Japanese didn’t respond.
When a new one was mysteriously tried Kalex aluminum swingarm in the Misano test in September 2021, as if it were a new panacea, the competition, which had been winning with carbon swingarms for years, had fun.
Subsequently, in the Sepang tests in February 2023, it became clear that the HRC was still in a technical stalemate and its last place in the one-make world championship he was never in danger.
For years, Honda and Yamaha have dominated the premier class with innovative ideasbut suddenly a breath of fresh air has arrived in Ducati since October 2013 with Gigi Dall’Igna, things improved in Aprilia after the arrival of Massimo Rivola in 2019, KTM joined in 2017 and has already won three MotoGP races in 2020 with Binder and Oliveira.
HRC, on the other hand, has neglected the promotion of young talents for years due to the supremacy of Marc Márquez. Although Jorge Martin and Joan Mir won the Moto3 World Championship with Honda, they debuted in the MotoGP class with Ducati and Suzuki. Also many other champions like Bagnaia, Bastianini, Bezzecchi, Binder, Oliveira, Quartararo (who contested the Moto3 World Championship with Honda) and Raúl Fernández were never convinced by HRC, while pilots like Bautista and Miller they only made themselves known in HRC competition.
An entire football team of great talents was snapped up by the competition, while Honda scared away the brilliant Dani Pedrosa and sent him to KTM as a top-level test rider for 2019. Casey Stoner has returned from HRC to Ducati as a test rider and HRC made one flop after another by choosing Repsol’s number 1 alongside Márquez.
Lorenzo arrived in 2019, then Alex Márquez (kicked out for 2021 even before the first race of the 2020 season), followed by Pol Espargaró (3rd place in Doha 2021 and 2nd place in Misano), before the total failure of Joan Mirsigned for 2023 and 2024. He finished the 2013 season in 22nd place with a paltry 26 points.
After the 2016 season, HRC parted ways with vice president Shuhei Nakamoto and team manager Livio Suppobut the new managers Yokoyama, Kobubu and Kuwata and the team director Alberto Puig they couldn’t think of anything other than continuing to focus all development on Marc Márquez. But no other Honda rider was able to go fast with his bike.
Out of desperation, Honda engineers have built “custom bikes” for all four riders after 2021or four different versions for Marc Márquez, Pol Espargaró, Nakagami and Alex Márquez.
Pol Espargaró, who developed the KTM RC16 into the race-winning machine, asked for more rear-wheel traction during winter testing and got it, finishing third at the season opener in Doha.
But Márquez wanted more grip on the front wheel upon his return. His wish was granted, and the rest of the HRC trio unanimously announced in the fall: “We haven’t received any new parts since the beginning of the season.” This also applies to Repsol works rider Pol Espargaró, who returned to Pierer Mobility after two disastrous years in HRC, for which he achieved six podiums in MotoGP and two pole positions in 2018 and 2020.
No wonder Honda has lost many top riders and customer teams in recent years.
Since the beginning of the four-stroke MotoGP era, HRC upset or lost satellite teams Pramac, Scot, Konica Minolta JiR, Interwetten, Gresini, Marc VDS, Aspar Martinez, AB MotoRacing.
Only LCR team owner Lucio Cecchinello has remained on board through good years and bad since 2006 (with Stoner). But the seven-time 125cc GP winner was very annoyed last year when HRC scared Texas GP winner Alex Rins with second-class material and made him switch to Yamaha.
Cecchinello then drew Zarco at LCR. The Frenchman agreed to a two-year contract, but Repsol team boss Alberto Puig wanted to move him to the factory team alongside Joan Mir for 2024.
But Cecchinello insisted on the agreement with the Frenchman and kept him at LCR-Honda. Repsol had to hire Luca Mariniwho with the RC213V lost himself like Joan Mir, 2020 world champion (on Suzuki).
In September 2022, the technical director of HRC Takeo Yokoyama he was removed from MotoGP’s day-to-day business, but was evidently the wrong scapegoat as the technical disaster continued full steam ahead into 2023.
And Marc Márquez reinforced the impression that, despite being a talented rider, he is incapable of developing a motorcycle.
At Le Mans he praised the new German Kalex chassis (developed in record time), but immediately set it aside after disastrous performances and crashes in Saxony and Assen.
The capabilities of Kalex engineers are undisputed: they have won every rider and brand world title in Moto2 since 2013.
The Kalex pilot Stefan Bradl he took the title from Marc Márquez (Suter) in the 2011 Moto2 World Championship.
After the disastrous results of recent years, Alberto Puig has been heavily criticized. In June 2023, it was rumored that Davide Brivio would take his place to HRC. But Puig explained at Assen: “I have a contract for 2024.”
However, Puig and the Japanese Honda officials once again failed in rider selection, did not improve the bike and made no progress in the World Superbike Championship in their eighth year under HRC management. Nobody knows why Puig and the HRC continue to keep the already overworked driver duo of Lecuona and Vierge.
Honda is also embarrassed in the Moto3 World Championship: after 7 out of 20 Grands Prix, Adrián Fernández is the best Honda rider in ninth place. The teams are relying on Pierer Mobility.
There was amazement even when the new owner of Dorna, Liberty Mediapublished a document a few weeks ago “investors/financial information”in which the multi-talented Alberto Puig, winner of the 500cc GP in Jerez in 1995 on a Honda NSR 500, was surprisingly identified as a Dorna shareholder.
“Incredible”a well-known team director shook his head.
A certain conflict of interest is conceivable and practically inevitable when a Honda manager has to negotiate with senior Dorna officials on subsidies for the MotoGP and SBK teams, on the future technical regulations of the two top series and Moto3 and on other topics.
the term “incompatibility” seems to have no place in the vocabulary of some motorsport managers.
But the However, Honda Racing Corporation remains a construction site. After Yokoyama, HRC workhorses Kuwata and Kokubu were also removed after 2023, while Taichi Honda and Shin Sato took over their roles.
But nothing has changed in terms of performance. Even the sleepy Ken Kawauchiwho lost his job at Suzuki a year and a half ago, is seen at best as the steward of the steady decline.
As in the last two years, there is not the slightest risk that a Honda rider will finish the 2024 MotoGP World Championship in the top ten of the general classification.
The long-standing slogan “Honda enters, Honda wins” has long since degenerated into a joke.
While Honda caused a sensation in the 1960s with the 125cc five-cylinder and the 250cc Six, it defeated all comers with the unbeatable five-cylinder rocket in 2002 and set new standards with the “seamless” gearbox in 2010in recent years all technical innovations in devices, electronics and aerodynamics have been neglected.
The results remain underground and HRC executives have been walking around dissatisfied for years. Red Bull withdrew from Repsol-Honda after Márquez left, Repsol cut its budget.
And also the “concessions“wide-ranging did not bring Honda an inch closer to the top.
The current positions in the world championship (18th (Mir), 19th (Zarco) and 21st (Nakagami) speak for themselves. Marini hasn’t scored a single point in 14 races.
Last year, Valentino’s brother took four podiums and eighth place overall with Ducati.
Luca Marini’s management was desperate for a two-year contract with HRC. A path that led straight to a dark dead end.
The alarm bells at Honda should have been ringing after the 2019 season. At the time, Cal Crutchlow, the second best Honda rider (9th in the World Championship), had lost as many as 287 (!) points in the standings compared to the champion, who had recorded twelve victories, six second places and one crash.
After Pedrosa’s departure for KTM, things went steadily downhill for HRC.
The founder of the company, Soichiro Honda, would be turning in his grave if he witnessed the miserable MotoGP performances of his once glorious team.
When one day, in 1954, Honda decided to participate in the Tourist Trophy, the founder of the company wrote to his employees: “We must discover the true value of the Japanese engineering industry and face the competition on the Isle of Man, bringing it to a level that we can proudly show to the whole world. I announce my commitment to participate in and win the TT races. I will support this goal with all my heart and with the depth of my soul. I will pursue this goal with all my creativity and with all my abilities. This is my vow.”
Incidentally, Honda won the 125cc race at the TT in 1961 with Mike Hailwood, ahead of four brand colleagues Taveri, Phillis, Redman and Shimazaki.
The results achieved by the current Honda team in MotoGP over the last four years, despite unlimited budgets, are indescribable. What they are doing is the height of amateurism.
