Analysis
Marc Márquez crossed the finish line in Portugal sixth, leading a group of four riders that also included two of his teammates, Álex Márquez and Pol Espargaró
The 2022 MotoGP World Championship is undergoing ups and downs that not only generate an equality in the general classification never seen before (with the first two, Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins, tied on 69 points, after 125 have already been distributed), but also they baffle drivers and teams, who go from happy to disappointed from one weekend to the next.
Yamaha bowed its head in resignation in Qatar, Argentina and the United States, unable to get anything more than a ninth, an eighth and a seventh with Quartararo, with the rest of its riders very far from the Frenchman. Now, he faces the second European round, that of Jerez, with his leader as first overall after having beaten his rivals this Sunday in Portugal.
Other brands such as Ducati have been able to appear more regularly in the front positions, although varying protagonists, in a factory that has up to eight prototypes. Perhaps Suzuki was the most regular, although the rain in Indonesia saved them from an expected bad race for which Joan Mir had foreseen a complicated day with a constant risk of crashes. Even Aprilia went from the glory of Argentina with Aleix Espargaró to content with the tenth of Maverick Viñales in the United States to return to the podium in Portimao.
The confusion is perhaps affecting Honda more than any brand. The Japanese firm promised them very happy in the preseason, but it is going through a difficult time that makes them look back at the gray 2021. «In the preseason we were one of the fastest, with a very good pace. In Qatar we did the fastest race in history for a Honda. In Indonesia we had the problem with the tire change, and then in Argentina I crashed fighting for the podium. And in Austin Marc made a run and although I was physically destroyed and almost retired, I noticed that there was potential. But now we’ve come here and we haven’t been competitive at all…”, summed up Pol Espargaró, ninth in the race, after closing a group of four riders led by Marc Márquez, with his brother Álex at the wheel and Pecco Bagnaia infiltrated among the three Hondas that they finished the test.
A sixth as the best result, with a Yamaha first, a Ducati second, an Aprilia third, a Suzuki fourth and a KTM fifth. That is to say, Honda as sixth in a championship with six factories in contention, in a general one in which it also occupies that last place in the constructors’ classification. «The race was difficult, hard. The position is bad and the result too. We lack what we had in preseason. The bike we have now is the same, and no one complained then about the problems behind it, and now we have them all”, continued Espargaró, who pointed out that all the HRC riders had praised their new prototype in the winter tests.
The sensations of Marc Márquez
“It’s still missing,” said the youngest of the Márquez, who on Sunday achieved his best result of the year on a track where he had also achieved his best position in 2021, fourth in the Algarve Grand Prix, although on that occasion ten seconds closer to the first and touching the podium. “It’s the same bike from the beginning of the season and you have to try something in the Jerez test to see the direction to follow, because if not on many circuits, especially those where you have to turn a lot with medium and high speed corners, We are going to suffer a lot,” he added.
An analysis, that of the problems with the bike, in which Marc Márquez enters less, still pending to recover his sensations, although he had already given signs in the previous appointments. “It seems that we need too much circuit to turn the bike, to use the rear grip, and that is not the DNA of the Honda. Its DNA has always been to go freer, squeeze, turn in short spaces, lift it, “explained Álex Márquez.
Some problems that have been accentuated this weekend and that Honda will have to face without time starting this Friday, with the respite that will be given by training on Monday after the Jerez race. And also with the ace up his sleeve that his number 1 returns to take out that pre-injury version with which he solved the ballot, even if it was at the cost of living in a limit that the six-time world champion now prefers not to reach. MotoGP with the Japanese bike.
Topics
Joan Mir, Marc Márquez, Maverick Viñales, Ducati, KTM, Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, Algarve, Portugal, MotoGP
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