The Americas MotoGP Grand Prix started poorly and shows no signs of easing up for Honda. After the manufacturer finished in the last four positions of the practice session on Friday, the same scenario repeated itself in qualifying… and in the Sprint race.
In fact, in the Sprint race, only one Honda rider saw the checkered flag – Luca Marini, who finished 17th and last of those who completed the race. Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) retired due to a crash on the first lap.
The same fate then befell Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) on the third lap and Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) on the sixth lap. A very challenging situation for the Japanese manufacturer, which shows no signs of improvement.
Indeed, at the end of the day on Friday, Mir appeared very frustrated, talking about the lack of progress and solution to the problems. The Mallorcan rider admitted for the first time that a wrong direction was followed in the development of the bike.
Concessions may make the recovery work easier, but even so, the task is becoming increasingly herculean for Honda. It remains to be seen how long it will take to mitigate the current shortcomings, translating the changes made into results.
