Honda has experienced a significant decline in performance in MotoGP in recent years, and it is committed to overcoming it. The process is slow, and at the beginning of this season, it continues to be one of the least competitive manufacturers. However, there are signs of change – starting with the approach.
Johann Zarco, from LCR Honda, assured that the riders from the satellite team have immediate access to information from the factory team – this after the recent test Honda conducted in Jerez: ‘What they did in Jerez, we can already get the information and new parts when they come. There is really no doubt about it since the beginning of the year and it will continue like this’.
The Frenchman highlighted the different mentality of Honda compared to the Marc Márquez era – where the bike was developed around the Spanish rider: ‘That is also a positive thing of Honda: there isn’t a strong leader as Marc was and the spirit of Honda, they really changed things to develop in the same way as the European brands’.
Developing a bike for a much stronger rider than the others can have its benefits, but also disadvantages as seen in the case of Honda: the performance decline coincided with the numerous physical problems the rider faced between 2020 and 2022, leading to a clear loss of direction in the development of the RC213V during that period. Naturally, it was not the only factor in the equation, as Yamaha also suffered from this loss of direction without overly focusing on a single rider.