Alberto Puig is a director of the Repsol Honda team who first wanted to be wise when presenting his colors for the 2021 MotoGP season. Philosophical about the situation of Marc Marquez, he almost surprised. But the naturalness thus chased away came galloping back when the subject of new recruit Pol Espargaró was broached. There, we found our martial and demanding Spaniard: between his two pilots, he wants a fight...
At Suzuki we work quietly to maintain, within the team and therefore between the drivers, a cohesion that has proven itself. The semantics are gentle so as not to awaken the demons of fratricidal struggle. And at Honda ? Under the Repsol awning, on the contrary, there is a call for a duel between teammates. An approach coldly assumed by Alberto puig who declared during the official presentation of his colors: “ there is also a competition within the team ". He even specifies to be clearly understood: “ because that's the only way to make sure we're good as a team. If there is good competition internally, the whole team grows thanks to it ».
The newcomer Pol Espargaro will therefore have free rein. He is even more than encouraged to seek Marc Marquez, when he takes back the necklace: “ this is what we expect from him » said Puig about the debauched pilot from KTM. " I hope he likes our team and our bike. We will give him the best possible support ».
Alberto Puig: “his objective is to fight against all the drivers, but also against Marc”
« We hope he can bring results to the team ", said Alberto puig. “ That’s always the goal when you sign a driver. He already has good experience and is no longer a child. His objective is to fight against all the drivers, but also against Marc, who is the reference. We hope that Pol will get used to our bike quickly ».
The president of the HRC Tetsuhiro Kuwata is apparently of the same opinion: “ he is a talented driver and he has the speed », declares the Japanese. “ There is no doubt about it. We need to prepare a good motorcycle for him. Then he can fight for the world championship with Marc. Our goal for the next two years is to prepare a good bike and support Pol so we can fight for the world championship with both drivers ».
With KTM, Pol Espargaro won two pole positions and six third places which allowed him to finish in the top 5 of the last championship. In the Honda factory team, Marc Marquez was mainly responsible for the better results in recent years. It was in 2017 that both drivers last won races in Repsol colors. At that time, Dani Pedrosa was the second pilot. 2020 was marked by the package of Marc Marquez due to injury so it was the most difficult year of Honda to date in MotoGP, and the first season without a victory since its return to the premier category in 1982. An unacceptable situation for the most successful brand in the history of the motorcycle world championship.
