Alberto Puig is the director of a Honda team that is powerful on paper but in tatters in reality. Since its champion Marc Marquez is no longer able to deliver his entire score, it has become clear that the RC213V is out of control. And for a while now. The world's leading manufacturer, after nine races this season, has scored 86 points, which places it far from the best factory to date, Yamaha, which is 98 points ahead of it...
It's very simple, alone Apriliais behind. Certainly, victory was at the end of the suffering for Marc Marquez at the Sachsenring, but, precisely, it took this individual feat of a genuine phenomenon to save the day. A new blatant proof of the great void that reigns at HRC, when it is not more serious...
We must indeed remember the comments of the same Marc Marquez after his fall to Assen about faulty electronics of his motorcycle, after a heavy fall which was very reminiscent of that of Jerez 2020 which was the start of all his misfortunes. All this to say thatAlberto puig, when he takes stock of his troops at this mid-season, cannot deny that the results are currently below expectations.
« In general terms, it wasn't that good if you look at the results » soberly declared the Spaniard on motogp.com. " First of all, we expected Marc to start the season regularly, which he couldn't do, then we had a bit of trouble with Pol who was struggling to understand our bike, and who was still having problems . Just like Alex and Nakagami. It would not be realistic to say that the season is going well ».
Puig, however, also tries to see the positive aspects. “ On the other hand, we understand what the real problems of the bike are and we also see riders who are slowly reaching their potential, especially Marc, who won at Sachsenring. We try to understand and it's positive ". The fact remains that the path is still long, tortuous and strewn with pitfalls. But Puig recognizes that there is no other: “ It's not about having faith, we have to do it » said Alberto. “ We have no other options and we are trying ».
Alberto Puig: “some people had forgotten who Marc Marquez was”
Alberto puig also focuses on its centerpiece: Marc Marquez. He takes the opportunity to put things in their place: “ some people had forgotten who Marc Marquez was » regrets the Spaniard. “ I'm not a person who reads a lot, newspapers and news, but I had seen some strange comments upon his return. I don't know if people understood Marc's level. This return was more difficult than expected and what he is doing in his condition is fantastic ».
He finishes : " I'm not saying he flies with one arm, but he does it with one and a half arms. Clearly, he's not 100% and only one driver can do what he does, and it's him. I don't speak as a team manager but as a former drivere when I say that its potential is really far ahead of that of all the others ". But given its current form, it cannot hide the fact that the potential of Honda is quite far from that of the other bikes on the grid.
