The 2022 season was one of the most disastrous ever, in terms of results, in the history of Honda in the World Championship, with the factory team finishing ninth in the final classification reserved for teams and even last in the Constructors’ championship. For this reason, the Japanese company wants to dismiss all the disappointments experienced with the arrival of 2023 as soon as possible, for which it is preparing with grit and motivation to achieve the highest goals. The proof is mainly in the driver market, with the signing of the Spanish couple formed by Alex Rins and Joan Mir, both coming from the deceased Suzuki, and with the latter mentioned in the role of Marc Marquez’s new teammate. To this was added the arrival of Ken Kawauchi as new technical manager, not forgetting the agreements signed with Akrapovich and Kalexrespectively for the supply of exhaust systems and for the development of the swingarm.
All operations that therefore demonstrate Honda’s iron will to return soon to the top of the world championship, and which particularly convince an expert like Livio Suppo. The Piedmontese, former team manager of Suzuki, Ducati, and above all Honda, indicated the Japanese manufacturer as the strongest, in terms of line-up, on the starting grid of the premier class. A fact that underlines how it will therefore not be correct to blame the pilots in the event that the latter fail to compete at their best in 2023: “Honda has two former world champions – explained Suppo in an interview with the official MotoGP website – a rider who has won two of the last three races (Rins, ed.) and Nakagami, who has proven not to be a slow driver. There are no rookies, they have four good drivers. Three of them are capable of winning races, with two of them having won a championship, therefore you can’t blame the pilots if the performance is not up to par. There are no excuses. Sometimes when the results don’t come, it’s easy for technicians to tell ‘yes, but the bike is good, look at Marc or Casey’. The other riders are slipping, they feel the pressure’. But, on paper, they have a very strong lineup. We all know what these pilots are capable of, so if they can’t do what we know they can, the problem is the bike. You can be sure that if the results don’t come, the problem is clearly the bike.”
In addition, having held the role of Team Manager for Suzuki in 2022, Suppo knows well the qualities and talent of Mir and Rins, and is sure that both can achieve excellent results if Honda manages to supply them with bikes in able to fight for victory: “Both Joan and Alex only have experience with Suzuki in MotoGP – he continues – they only got to run an inline-four engine, which the paddock riders will tell you is easier to drive than the V4. But if they can get this thought out of their heads, and tackle the bike like a motorbike, I think that will help them. Surely it will not be easybecause they have a very difficult reference inside, because Marquez is Marquez. It’s been ten years since anyone has managed to score more points than him in a season with the same bike. The last time Honda won a race without Marc was in 2017, which was a very long time. They have a tough challenge ahead of them, that’s obvious, but I believe both can do it. They have great talent, and with the right approach and the right mentality, I believe they can have good seasons. It depends on the bike, obviously, but I have no doubts about the talent of Joan and Alex. If they don’t get lost, that talent will show. Both have two-year contracts with HRC. I think that’s enough time to get used to a new setup and to prove that they are fast. Every year we start from scratch and everyone has the same opportunity. Even if the gap between Honda and Ducati, which is the best bike out there, is huge, I still think they can have a good season.”
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