From last weekend, when the trucks arrived with all the material, and until Thursday, when they finished dismantling everything, Honda had the Circuito de Jerez at its disposal, where the MotoGP and SBK test teams worked respectively with Stefan Bradl and Tetsuta Nagashima.
The Honda test team was looking forward to these two days of work, given that some new parts had arrived from Tokyo following feedback from the regular riders following the official 2024 pre-season test held on November 28th in Valencia, showing a reactivity that was already evident in Cheste, where a completely new bike had been brought. Something that hasn't been seen from the Japanese company for many years.
However, during the two days of testing on Tuesday and Wednesday, there were few hours of sunshine and the temperature remained below 15 degrees, with the asphalt too cold and in poor condition to be able to work in the range required by the tires Michelin MotoGP. On Wednesday there was also rain, which brought forward the end of the work. As a result, Bradl was unable to do many laps or thoroughly test all the material.
Although initially, apparently, it seemed that Honda had brought the 2024 engine to Jerez for a first shakedown, the truth is that until the official tests in Sepang next February, HRC will not bring significant improvements in this sense.
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Stefan Bradl, Team LCR Honda
“The bikes were very similar to those of Valencia, with some improvements, but the engine was the same”, they assure from Honda. “For the Sepang test we expect major engine upgrades, as well as chassis improvements,” the sources added. This is why Motorsport.com assumes that there will not be a completely new 2024 engine, but rather an evolution of the current one.
Honda's test in Jerez is already part of the new concessions package which offers the Tokyo manufacturer and Yamaha more tires for private tests, the freedom to ride on circuits of their choice and other privileges provided for by the new rules approved last November by the manufacturers of the premier class.
One of these concessions was to be able to develop the engines throughout the 2024 season, allowing Honda (and Yamaha) to implement evolutions or, if deemed appropriate, to switch to a completely new engine mid-season.
Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow said after the November test in Valencia that he hoped to be able to do some testing before the end of the year and that the Iwata top management had to present him with a work plan before accepting the three-year renewal offer which was presented to him at the Japanese GP, where he raced as a wild card.
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