With a bike in disarray, its best rider, and also undoubtedly the one in the MotoGP field, deserter and heading straight towards the Ducati competition, without forgetting a team in full doubt where everything is to be questioned, starting with himself , Alberto Puig can only note that this 2023 vintage will be nothing unforgettable in the history of Honda in Grand Prix...
It took less than three seasons to see the metamorphosis of a Alberto puig triumphant, dominant and sure of himself, as of his brand Honda, in shadow wandering in a paced paddock wondering how he could have gotten there, or to find himself joining the starting grid from the last places on the day of a Grand Prix.
A situation that only gets worse with each passing campaign. That of 2023 ended again with the last of the five places in the general manufacturers' classification. Despite a victory: that ofAlex Rins in Austin, a pilot had barely arrived than Honda didn't even know how to hold back and ran off to his compatriot Yamaha .
So, when asked to Alberto puig to take stock of the season for his troops Repsol Honda, it turns into a funeral oration: “ it can't be very good. It's obvious, you know, we haven't had an unforgettable year » recognizes the Spaniard on motosan. " We started with Marc Marquez's pole position at Portimao, then the accident and the injury. And then Joan Mir also tries to understand the motorcycle. Lots of ups and downs, but more downs than ups. It's the truth ».
Alberto puig also assured that in Japan, they work hard to improve themselves. “ We obtained more or less acceptable results in India and Japan. Fortunately for the Japanese fans, Marc was able to reach the podium. But from the point of view of our team, the Repsol Honda team, it was not a good deal for us. Our competitors have taken a very big step forward. And even if we take steps and try to understand our weaknesses, we still haven't been able to reach our goal ».
Alberto Puig: “ the level of our bike is much higher than it showed, but for many reasons it did not work »
« They work hard in Japan. They restructure not only the people but also the way of proceeding to develop the machine. It wasn't easy. I mean, we started the year with an injury. So this is not the right way to start, there was no luck then and it was a lot of difficulty afterwards » repeats the director of the Repsol Honda team.
« The bike is clearly not in its performance, we think its level is much higher than what it showed, but for many reasons it did not perform » regrets the one whose rumor never stops predicting his departure. “ It's not nice to see a champion in this kind of situation or result, but it happened like this. It hasn't been easy for Joan this year either, it must be said and he understood that it wasn't that simple. His only hope is to try the bike next year and see if it suits him better or, let's say, if it's more suited to the way he rides and we'll see from there ».
2024 promises to be just as complicated, even if, during the first test of the off-season in Valencia, progress has been noted, while two new pilots have joined the ranks of the HRC: Luca Marini among officials and Johann zarco at LCR.
