The executive’s speech hasn’t changed much in recent months. However, the possibility that Marquez will not complete the remaining year of his contract with the Japanese manufacturer to seek his fortune elsewhere, presumably at Gresini Racing and on a Ducati, has caused Honda to react.
The Tokyo company has launched a recruitment campaign of coaches from other teams, many of them European, to try to revive a calamitous situation that could worsen considerably if Marquez decides to leave.
This is what Puig, the man in charge of this recruitment mission, is trying to avoid, and which, on paper, should shake the foundations of a structure too tied to the protocols that have brought it to glory in the past, and which they have long since become obsolete.
The Honda formula is not enough to correct the lack of traction and acceleration of an RC213V which, in the hands of #93, is only able to make up ground when braking, with the risk of ending up on the ground that this entails. The Catalan, who is coming out of the most difficult period of his life after an injury that saw him out of the saddle for a year and a half, is tired of believing in the impossible and is ready for a change of scenery.
On Monday he is expected to ride the prototype of the motorcycle designed for 2024; we will have to see how he feels about that vehicle and, if it is good, if it arrives on time. Until then, Puig repeats what has been said so far with some nuances.
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“We have a contract with Marc and he hasn’t told us anything. It’s obvious that our situation is negative. It’s very important to give him a bike he can trust next year. It’s up to Honda to convince Marc to stay. And not with words, but with deeds,” the former driver said in an interview with DAZN on Saturday.
Puig, who has already seen himself in the role of the young man from Cervera, empathizes with him and understands perfectly that he evaluates any scenario. “I perfectly understand the frustration that Marc may feel and also the fact that he talks to other brands,” said the former driver born in Barcelona, who does not hide the distance that separates them on a technical level from the competition: “On a technical level it is clear that we are quite far from finding the solution.”
Puig is aware that a situation as dramatic as the one the HRC is experiencing can only be addressed with a strong shock. “When you change something, you can change just a little, which is like doing nothing, or you can make a radical change. That’s why we are thinking about a radical change,” said Puig, who clarified once again that if Marc decides to leave, no one will stop him. “Honda is not a company that forces anyone to race for it,” she added.
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