The path chosen by Honda for the technical evolution of its RC213V is a subject which has come back to the forefront since Alex Rins' victory in Austin. Because the LCR rider won in Texas with a different bike from the one requested by Marc Marquez, but which was the one proposed by HRC after the winter break. We will have to wait until this weekend in Jerez to see if this episode experienced in the United States is an exception, which is not impossible with Alex Rins who knows how to express his full potential in Austin. However, this is not the first time that questions have been raised about the way Marc Marquez develops the Honda. A legitimacy that Alex Rins has damaged, but that Dani Pedrosa also openly contests before returning to the track this weekend, for a Spanish Grand Prix in which he will participate with the KTM.
Was it Honda was there, because of the one who nevertheless brought him so many titles and victories when everything was going well? To get an idea of the answer to this question, we must refer to various accepted statements, starting with that of Marc Marquez himself in his documentary series where he hides nothing of who he is. Remembering his arrival in the box Repsol, he says : " At the time we had a great bike and everything worked well. Therefore if a play worked for Pedrosa, I didn't like it and I said: “It’s not working, I want the other one, I want this spare part, since I’m in the lead!” Don't give him that! It was like that. And when people asked me: 'what about this room? You want to try ?' I did not want. Because I didn't want him to have it ».
This strange atmosphere, this influence is confirmed in every way by Dani Pedrosa which reveals on the site I reveal : " In the team we were in, HRC, it was like this: the one who goes the fastest is number 1, the one who chooses the parts and the one who somewhat determines the direction. When he arrived, I was in this position then with the races and the championships, he took this position and decided in his own way ».
Dani Pedrosa has an ethic: “ at Honda, I wasn't thinking of my rival right next door, but of Yamaha, Ducati... Because I consider myself part of the brand »
A very different way… “ When I was leading the evolution of the bike, I had the parts first and I never thought about myself. My way has always been to do what is best for the team, and if I have the best parts to make the best bike, I wasn't thinking of my rival right next door, but of Yamaha, Ducati... Because I consider myself part of the brand. Later, he had this other way of doing things, which I never did because that's not my way of being. For example, before Marc arrived, with Stoner, we never did that game either ».
And with the seasons that have passed since Dani Pedrosa lost his hand, then left the box, we saw the Honda deteriorate to the point of appearing today as incapable of making chassis that the manufacturer would order from Kalex. As for Marc Marquez, his reputation as a fine-tuner remains intact, but that on the track is cracking, under the blows of an intransigence which is beginning to tire at all levels in the paddock.
In view of the above, these words of Dani Pedrosa pronounced on the situation of Honda at the start of this season sounds very particular: “ I understand that they are in a strange situation for what they are. Maybe it's a bit of a harvest of some things that happened before. What you see now are things that happened before ". Then he adds: “ but in general it's a brand that has always been successful, I don't see why they couldn't succeed again later ». alex rins must think the same thing.
