Alberto Puig no longer boasts about the theme of “we are Honda” which sounds like a magical incantation immunizing against defeat. And for good reason: Honda is currently experiencing a debacle that would make the Bérézina episode seem like a joyous country walk. The pilots are in the infirmary, the RC213V is a widowmaker and everyone looks at each other motionless and stunned in the box. No solution seems possible in the short term while the crisis has persisted since 2021. The situation is such that the promoter Dorna is ready to throw a lifeline towards the HRC with concession points in it so as not to see it sink. definitely the world's leading manufacturer. This is the situation. On which even Alberto Puig insists…
« Of course we cannot be satisfied with this situation or believe that it is in any way acceptable ". This is how it begins Alberto puig its state of affairs Honda in MotoGP. The first progress to be noted is therefore that he is no longer in denial. But with what follows, it unfortunately seems that this is the only one to be happy about. “ From a Honda point of view, it's not good, it's really bad » he continues. “ Three of our pilots are injured and the results are non-existent, this is not our objective in the race. For now we need to focus on recovering Marquez, Mir and Rins so that they return to 100% fitness. Luckily we now have the summer break where they can rest and recover ».
The Spaniard continues on his drivers: “ at the moment we don't have a factory driver ”, valid and capable of course. And Marc Marquez, how is he ? : “ Mentally or physically? Well, both, not too good. Physically, he is clearly suffering. From a mental point of view, he is not happy at all. He made his feelings clear. It's not good at all. This is clearly bad. It is clear that we must do more to enable our drivers to reach their maximum potential. Everyone at HRC – in Europe and Japan – is paying full attention to it. We are not satisfied and we know there is still much to do ».
Alberto Puig: “ we are in trouble »
And there is indeed so much left to do that, at Honda, we still do not understand how we could get to this point in MotoGP. " First of all, we need to have a good understanding of where the problems are and how best to solve them. This will be the main focus of all HRC engineers in Japan during this break », admits Alberto puig. " They are already working on a few points based on driver feedback since the start of the year, but we must continue to work and progress. A MotoGP is a complete package, you have to improve every aspect of it. A new part rarely solves all the problems. We will try to have a clearer vision of the future after the break. Now it's about analyzing and getting to the roots, to the heart of our situation », Said the man from Repsol Honda again.
We are therefore still very far from being in a position at HRC to take advantage of possible concession points to come, since we don't know where to turn. And then there is also this, which almost merits a final condemnation: “ what do they see in Japan? I can't tell you because I don't know what they think or do » stuns Alberto Puig. « My understanding is that our staff here is informing the factory of the situation. That's what they need to do, give them the reality of the situation ". In view of the above, the Spaniard's conclusion is self-evident: “ now we're talking about mistakes because we're in trouble. But we also did some things well ". Maybe, but that was a long time ago.
