Alberto Puig takes stock of a 2020 season which could have ended with the ninth absolute coronation for captain Marc Marquez. As a bonus, the constructor and team titles would have brought this prestigious triple crown which establishes domination in MotoGP. But once the hero was injured and lost, Honda was able to appreciate the relevance of the adage that when you miss just one being, everything is depopulated. Because in 2020, Honda made a violent return to 1982…
To Honda, it is indeed unheard of since this vintage which marked its return to the major Grand Prix category which was then the 500 two-stroke. But the 2020 harvest is indeed meager: two podiums, no victories, one pole position, the best driver, Nakagami, tenth in the general classification… The brand is only fifth of the six competing manufacturers and the Repsol team is ninth in the hierarchy of teams, even suffering the humiliation of seeing the LCR satellite structure in front of it.
A statement that makes the leader of the troops spontaneously say Alberto puig : " Of course it's not a season you want to remember. » said the team director Honda, Quoted by motogp.com. He adds : " I think it is impossible to evaluate our season because our best driver was absent. Obviously it wasn't a good season for us. If you are missing a top driver, it is clear that the rating is not very good. There is nothing more to say. We were going for another victory and suddenly found ourselves in a situation where it became impossible ».
Alberto Puig still recognizes satisfaction
However, this campaign was not all desolation. There have also been some revelations that the absence of Marc Marquez made it possible. Among these, the younger brother of the Marquez, named Alex, rookie in the discipline he discovered, crowned with his title in Moto2. In the first eight races, two top 10 results were the best result ofAlex Marquez. Then something clicked during the tests in Misano, a revelation that the podiums at Le Mans in the rain and in Aragon in the dry confirmed.
« Nobody bet on him at the start of the season ", said Puig. “ Then he took a step forward and was super fast. Suddenly, he was at the top. From my point of view, he made very good progress, which was perhaps even more important than expected. This is why we are very satisfied with his progress. Alex did a very good job as a beginner. This also applies to 'Taka'. He proved he could keep up with the best riders. He started from the first line. The season was also very good ».
We will recall that Nakagami also had his revelation, by sticking his driving style as close as possible to the settings adopted on the RC213V by Marc Marquez. But there was also Crutchlow et Bradl at the forehead. What do you think Alberto Puig ? " Cal had his ups and downs, but he helped us because he helped us understand a lot about motorcycles ", said Puig about the Brit who finally left Honda to be a test rider with Yamaha next year.
« I would also like to mention Stefan. He should have been the test driver and suddenly we asked him to drive in the race. He went from zero Grand Prix to ten in three months. On the many laps he did, we saw that he had speed. He also understood that he is fast. It was very good for us ». Honda therefore extended the contract with Bradl as a test and reserve driver for 2021.
Exactly, 2021… The return of Marc Marquez is more than desired but still far from being achieved. Honda is thinking about finding a temporary worker capable of playing regularly at the top of the table. There will also be the newcomer Pol Espargaro. Will he know the revelation about the RC213V coming from the RC16? This would relieve a lot of people Honda ...
