This Grand Prix of Qatar was a leap into the unknown for the official Honda team. On a Losail track which is recognized as not being a friend of the RC213V, the men ofAlberto Puig were coming out of mixed tests with recovering pilots. Meanwhile, the resident of the LCR satellite team Cal Crutchlow was worried about the behavior of the front of the latest addition to the Tokyo workshops. But with two bikes on the podium, the Spanish team manager couldn't not be satisfied.
However, there is a dark side to the picture. In this case a Jorge Lorenzo who was coming back from injury and got injured again. Two falls on Saturday got the better of his good will. But there was still room for a final thirteenth place. Despite a cracked rib subsequently detected…
There was also, after arrival, the revolt against Ducati, with a joint complaint submitted to the authorities with Aprilia, KTM and Suzuki. But, unlike the representatives of these brands, we should not count on the dark Puig to have a comment on this group action which following was promised before the Argentine Grand Prix…
And for good reason. If it were to receive a favorable response, its pilot Marc Márquez would find himself the winner… So the Spaniard sticks to the facts when taking stock: “ our strategy was to ensure that Marc was accompanied by the best drivers from the start. I have the impression that he felt good because he was fighting for the victory. We saw that he was trying, which is a very good sign for the future. Jorge was a little tired after his two falls the day before, his goal was to score as many points as possible »
Overall it was a very good start to the season, the Repsol Honda team principal said: “ First we were able to improve the bike and that was our first objective, which we achieved. After this difficult winter, second place for Marc is an excellent result. Unfortunately, Jorge had a big crash on Saturday and he had a lot of problems in the race. We hope he recovers soon, as his preparation for the season did not go as planned after his surgery. »
