It must be believed that Honda veterans definitely do not have good memories of a period that they hoped would be prolific, given the reputation and history of the brand in Grand Prix. The disappointment is all the greater as the experience on the RC213V was a nightmare. Alex Marquez, who is now delighted with his new Ducati, does not miss an opportunity to scratch his old coat of arms, insisting on the fact that he is now a long way from what he used to be. But he is not the only one. Pol Espargaró, who returned to the KTM fold this year, does not deprive himself of it either, the proof…
When Pol Espargaro left KTM almost without notice to join the ranks of Repsol Honda, he was convinced that it would be the apotheosis of his career. Instead, after two disastrous seasons confirmed by a 12th and then a 16th place in the championship, he was quick to escape from the HRC box and return to his Austrian starting base. The experience he gets from these two lost seasons is painful, but not only for him. What he saw at Honda, and which he puts in the public arena, calls into question what is happening in the lair of the world's leading manufacturer, to the point of wondering if it still makes sense to continue like this.
Public chat crash.net, we thus read his words quite harsh to Honda : " it all comes down to the lack of enthusiasm and work of the engineers, who should have fixed the situation at the time » he says then adds: “ It's not that I was mistreated, but I'm very frustrated with the situation ". And the situation is as follows: “ with the injury of Marc Marquez, Honda decided to stop the evolution of the motorcycle. Plus, you have to add the problems we already had while other brands continued to evolve. Now, technically, this is a subject that belongs to specialized engineers and technicians, because they are the ones who know the reasons why a part works or not ».
Pol Espargaro: “ I saw a lot of tranquility and relaxation in times of crisis and lack of control, and it bothered me a lot »
« We didn't know how to fix it or didn't have the tools to do so » he adds before really worrying about the state of mind and motivation of the Japanese who apparently take their crisis situation with guilty detachment: “ you see that you are not doing well, that there are a lot of expectations and that you cannot do anything because no one helps you, and you are bound hand and foot. It's not getting better, you don't have any new pieces to turn things around and it makes you desperate because you don't see a way out ».
But it is with these arguments that Pol Espargaro delivers the final blow: “ I saw a lot of tranquility and relaxation in times of crisis and lack of control, and it bothered me a lot ". It also sends this subliminal message: “ you learn who you can trust and who you can't ". Then he finishes: “ it was frustrating and very hard. Being at Repsol Honda is a privilege, very few riders are chosen to wear these colors. I saw myself with the obligation to be the person who would lead a project like this with Marc Marquez, but that was not the case. Instead there were poor results, distrust and many falls ».
Pol Espargaro was replaced in his position by the 2020 MotoGP World Champion Joan mir while at LCR Honda, it is the other former Suzuki alex rins who took the handlebars of the RC213V instead ofAlex Marquez. We wish them, first of all, courage and determination…
