The rainy Saturday of the Silverstone Sprint race which took place as part of the British Grand Prix, the ninth round of this MotoGP season, was a disastrous day for the Japanese motorcycle industry represented by Yamaha and Honda. Because this time, it was not just dominated, as it has been for several meetings already. It was rolled. Judge for yourself: in 10 laps, the Hondas and Yamahas took three seconds per lap from the Ducati of winner Alex Marquez, followed by the Aprilias and the KTMs. A topless one if ever there was one.
To find a Japanese motorcycle in the ranking of this shameful event for Japan, you had to go down to fifteenth place to find Franco Morbidelli. Who commented: “ in the race, the potential of my Yamaha collapsed. It's difficult to fight and show your speed in such a group ". The slump was such that Marc Marquez admitted to having cut the throttle to wait for the other pilots Honda and ride with them to study the RC213V in action: “I tried to ride with the other Hondas to watch and learn something » commented the resigned eight-time World Champion.
Takaaki Nakagami, who finished only 20th, said the pace of the Honda had shocked him: “ we have a lot of problems when we have to brake the motorcycle in the lean angle. But she shows no reaction and no dynamism », he criticized. Joan Mir suggested that the wet conditions of the sprint had highlighted the weaknesses of the Honda. So there is hope for a better result in the main race which is promised to be dry, but we also cannot expect a miracle cure for Japanese motorcycles this Sunday.
Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha: “ I would like to see what the real difference is inside, especially the Ducati »
Et fabio quartararo ? Qualified last, ranked penultimate, he was wondering if his Yamaha was ultimately not eligible for the next Sunday Ride Classic SRC at Castellet… “ I know how to ride in the rain. But what we especially lack is rear grip and a sufficient lean angle ". And he specifies: “ our motorcycle looks like a motorcycle from 10 years ago, the others don't look like motorcycles. I would like to see what the real difference is inside, especially the Ducati who has been using this bike for many years. Ours is much more stripped down ».
What seems certain is that it will take a lot and solid concession points in the regulations to bring the Japanese manufacturers back into the race. They will also have to show strong will to find the leading group. Because the force of the slap taken this Saturday at Silverstone would discourage more than one from staying in the ring MotoGP.
Q1 Results Silverstone MotoGP Silverstone 2023
Q2 Results Silverstone MotoGP Silverstone 2023
Results Sprint Race Silverstone MotoGP 2023
Credit classification motogp.com