The drop in performance of Japanese constructors in MotoGP is evident, with Honda and Yamaha in crises that don’t seem to have an end in sight. In addition to introducing several changes to their respective bikes, they are also slowly changing their structure and processes, in a process that takes time.
Kevin Schwantz spoke to the website GPOne.com about the situation of the constructors who once dominated MotoGP. According to the former rider, their mentality and approach are putting them at a disadvantage, as it is not very effective for the development of a bike:
– I think that the Japanese have always been so determined to follow their own direction, that today they are facing problems. Europeans, on the other hand, are used to extracting the maximum from all possible areas, they test six or even eight bikes on track. It is a sea of very useful information to find the right direction to develop a bike.
The number of bikes on track is, in Schwantz’s view, a Achilles’ heel for Honda and Yamaha: ‘If you only have one team with two bikes and maybe a satellite team, it is very difficult to fight on equal terms. Japanese constructors need to open their minds more than they currently do‘.
