Yamaha e Honda they quickly found themselves supplanted by European brands, which gained the upper hand thanks to the work done on aerodynamics and the speed of development. But if the company of the three tuning forks has shown signs of life – at least in terms of design – with the unexpected two-year renewal of Fabio Quartararo, with the arrival of technical director Max Bartolini from Ducati and with the negotiation to make Pramac the satellite team at which to entrust two other official motorbikes, the same cannot be said of the Golden Wing manufacturer.
What remains of the Honda giant? What remains of the destination dreamed of by many pilots of the past and disputed by sponsors? The name and the story, little else. In Austin and Mugello she was unable to bring any of her four centaurs into the points and the constructors’ classification tells of a disastrous haul of just 19 points in 7 races and 7 sprints and no placing higher than 12th under the checkered flag on Sunday.
Marc Marquez and sponsor Red Bull ran away at the end of 2023, probably Repsol will also terminate its partnership with HRC after 30 years. There is no reaction or clear path to follow, concessions are not enough: Honda is unable to recover ground, on the contrary, it is increasingly alone at the bottom of the standings. We continue with the Japanese direction, which has failed – for years now – to reverse the situation. “We bring in so many new parts because we don’t have clear solutions to our problems“, team principal Alberto Puig honestly admitted.
Luca Marini – who has not yet sensationally won a world championship point in 2024 – commented on the possibility of Aleix Espargarò as test driver with a bitter smile: “He knows the secrets of Aprilia, we hope he can bring some drawings of their bike”. And to think that the Italian himself had arrived in HRC credited with the qualities of a great test rider and a profound connoisseur of Ducati.
Joan Mir is frustrated: “Before Honda I had many offers, now I don’t. But I’m not retiring, you just need to find competitiveness again to change your thoughts. And I just want to get out of this dark moment“. Words that taste like goodbye.
The rider market doesn’t seem to make sense, with such an uncompetitive bike. Honda is consistently the last guess among a range of alternatives and even Maverick Vinales – despite having had a millionaire offer on the table – preferred KTM.
It’s a sad drift. There doesn’t seem to be a vision of the future. This Honda is a giant with balsa feet.
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