It did not escape Joan Mir that, during the last Japanese Grand Prix, Honda cleaned up its ranks by signaling the end of the mission to one of its flagship engineers in the person of Shinichi Kokubu. A strong decision, taken at the time when MotoGP set foot on national soil, thus delivering a feeling of scathing disavowal, the price for the successive failures observed on the track of attempts to improve the RC213V, over the last four years. And now ? This is the whole question that Joan Mir asks himself and that is also addressed by the one who knows this team well having governed it for a time on the ground, namely Livio Suppo.
When asked to Joan mir – who joined the team this season Repsol Honda, after being crowned in 2020 under the Suzuki flag in MotoGP – what he thinks of the departure which seems to be ousting Shinichi Kokubu, he comments: “ I think that if there are changes with the Japanese, it also means that these changes were probably necessary. Japanese manufacturers are not known for normally replacing people quickly. But if they do, they're safe ».
The possible effects of the changes at the head of the HRC were also discussed: “ in the box, nothing has really changed. We will see ", said Mir. " It will be important to see if this change was the right one. We will only benefit from changes when new things that actually work come along. Only then will we see if the change made a difference », added the teammate of a Marc Marquez that this change had no influence on his decision to stop there with the project Honda, preferring to relaunch on a Ducati Gresini satellite. What remains to be formalized...
« At Suzuki, the Japanese listened to European engineers and that's what Honda lacks »
Because this internal revolution, which immediately launched the rumor of an attempted kidnapping by Honda de Gigi Dall'Igna, who made Ducati the power in MotoGP that it is today, arrived too late to convince the eight-time world champion to stay. Livio Suppo, Racing Consultant analyzed the situation thus: “ even if Gigi had accepted, he doesn't have a magic wand and it would still have taken time to make Honda competitive » assures the Italian who adds: “ I believe Suzuki was the example of how Japanese manufacturers should work ».
A certainty that he develops: “ when I got there I noticed big differences compared to HRC, because I found highly qualified European technicians and Japanese engineers at their service. They listened to them, which I think Honda is now lacking. I remember it took me a year to convince Nakamoto to hire Filippo Tosi to quickly resolve problems with this unique software. When he arrived, it was difficult for them to trust him at first. ».
« Rather than taking a Dall'Igna, which would also be cumbersome in the media, I would have done something less sensational or less substantial. Like taking people who work at Aprilia, Ducati and KTM create a group, provided you listen to them afterwards. That's how it worked at Suzuki and last year it was the most competitive Japanese bike " remember Livio Suppo which concludes with GP One : " technical developments over the last 3 years have meant that the pilot can now make less difference. It was a process so rapid that it caught the Japanese off guard ».
