MotoGP | Honda still doesn’t have a “clear answer” to its problems

Honda continues to work hard to overcome the current performance crisis in MotoGP. For the moment, this is translating into various technical and component tests by the golden wing manufacturer, in tests and also in Grand Prix races, with the bikes often modified to identify the path to follow in each sector.

At the Catalan GP, ​​Johann Zarco debuted new aerodynamics, one of three that can be homologated during the season thanks to the new concession system. The Repsol drivers instead adopted it at the Italian Grand Prix, where they also had a different engine configuration from that of the previous weekend. Joan Mir, who explained that he was showing up at the Mugello weekend with a technical package he had never used before, made no secret of being a little disoriented.

If we add to this Stefan Bradl’s wild card in Barcelona, ​​where he rode an even more different RC213V, we can get an idea of ​​the work carried out by Honda’s engineers. For Alberto Puig, it is another sign of the road that the Japanese brand has to travel and the effort that is being made to reach it.

“We are always looking for answers, but it is also true that we are testing many different parts, many things. But usually, when you test many things, it means that you still don’t have a clear answer to your problems,” the team said HRC manager at the official MotoGP website after Mugello.

“That’s why you see so many specs, so many parts. As we said at the beginning of the year, we’re trying to take advantage of the tests we have, the concessions, and that’s why we’re bringing a lot of new things, to see how it works,” added the Spaniard. This essential work will continue in the coming weeks, especially as rumors point to the introduction of a new engine in the summer.

On the other hand, if we look at the number of kilometers covered on Monday during the official test of the MotoGP teams at Mugello, characterized by rain and bad weather, we can notice that, while the Ducati riders completed only 11 laps, the Honda riders totaled 122 .

However, the few improvements seen on the RC213V consisted of a new tank cover on Luca Marini’s bike, who is working on his riding position. Although Honda continues to work ahead of the summer break, it appears there will be no further major developments until then, as it will not join Yamaha in the Iwata team’s private testing in Valencia.

Despite the rain, the official HRC riders tried to make useful evaluations on their bikes and Marini declared that they had worked on “interesting things, new things. I can’t tell you which ones”, he said, “but they improve the performance a little of the bike. It’s still not enough, it’s impossible to say how much progress has been made with these things. The feeling is a little better, but we still have to work on it.”

While he was happy to have been able to test despite the rain, the Italian warned that it would not change the situation drastically. “But we are like this, we take small steps forward, the important thing is to do a lot. Many small steps make one big one”, he observed with a smile.

The 40 laps completed by the brother of Valentino Rossi, the most active man on the track on Monday, also served him to gain experience and try to improve one of Honda’s main weaknesses: performance in the wet.

“If we improve our situation in the wet, we will definitely have advantages in the dry,” he explained. “I think the Ducati, in particular, is the bike that puts the most load on the rear tire and struggles with the front, because it has so much downforce on the rear that it destroys the front tire.”

“So they have to pay a lot of attention to the front compound and not the rear one. For us it’s the opposite. Our front tire always works well, we have a good feeling and we don’t have any wear problems, while with the rear we do. We therefore have to invest a a little more on this, because Michelin is very talented when it comes to producing rear tyres.”

Mir also tried to optimize his test based on the conditions. “We completely changed our plans. We tried some things with the electronics in the wet,” explained the Majorcan, who nevertheless said he was satisfied. “This year we haven’t had many sessions in the wet. And with this new bike it’s important to find the right settings, which is what we tried in the few laps I did.”

“But the truth is that it wasn’t very productive, because the track dried very quickly, then once it was dry it started raining again, and so on three times. So you can’t say it was a wasted day, but almost”, concluded the 2020 champion.