Since Alberto Puig arrived as team director at Honda in MotoGP, many things have changed. Dani Pedrosa left at the end of 2018 after 12 years and now it is Marc Márquez who is leaving at the end of the year – following three very difficult seasons and without the expected results from the Japanese team.
Criticism of Puig on social media has been numerous, and Efrén Vázquez made a point to defend him. Quoted by the site Motosan.es, the former rider mentioned Pedrosa’s departure:
– Puig has been at Honda for a long time, they have a lot to thank him for. Puig took Dani to the CEV and the World Championship without winning, and Dani more than repaid. I hear that Puig firing Pedrosa was a shame, they say it was a decision of the HRC and no one had the courage to do it. Alberto is a very strange person, but not bad, and I’m sure he would be hurt by Dani and, perhaps, Dani also by him, long relationships are like that.
D’altra parte, Vázquez ritiene che nemmeno Jorge Lorenzo abbia avuto mancanza di supporto da parte di Puig, nonostante la stagione difficile che ha avuto sulla Honda: ‘Se Puig non lo avesse supportato, Jorge lo avrebbe detto apertamente e rapidamente. Il problema con Puig è più della stampa che dei piloti, e questa è una realtà‘.
