Honda has been in technical turmoil for a while now, but things got worse at Misano under pressure from Marc Marquez who was so exasperated to see that nothing was changing or moving at HRC that he clearly suggested that in this what concerns him, he would not stay there any longer. A project which was not discouraged by an evolution of the RC213V brought as part of the San Marino Grand Prix with Stefan Bradl, then proposed during the test on the Monday following the twelfth round of the championship, and still in Misano, to the drivers owners of the brand. To be honest, disappointment was in order, but not surprise, and it is not Taka Nakagami who will say the opposite…
Marc Marquez don't think about it anymore and his teammate Joan mir plans to use the new Honda 2024 chassis from this end of the season, with this mention however tinged with despair: “ I said this season felt more like a testing season, so why not? » commented the one who was a Suzuki World Champion of MotoGP in 2020 before adding: “ if they didn't bring an engine here that means the change they will make won't be very huge, because if this new bike can stay with the same engine, the change will not be big ».
And what does loyal soldier Taka think? “ I tested a different chassis as well as the prototype of the bike » he first confirmed. “ It looks very different ". Sure, but … " If I'm honest, I expected a lot better. The feel and position are quite different, the first impression was really strange. But after three runs I adapted and everything was fine, it's not a negative thing. However, the performance is not there yet, we have no grip. I wanted more grip, but the rear wheel grip was very similar ».
Taka Nakagami: “ at Honda they didn't explain the changes to me in detail before I got on the bike »
Then the Japanese gives us a posture of which he has the secret: “ that was the first impression of the bike. It's not disappointing, but I wasn't pleasantly surprised... Okay, it's a new bike, but lap times are not coming because we don't have the grip. Even at Misano, where the grip level is very high, we hear that the grip is lacking. If we were in Montmelò, it would be even worse… The feedback is clear and this is also evident from the data ».
He also specifies, thus revealing that nothing is changing in the working method of his compatriots: “ They didn't explain the changes to me in detail before I got on the bike. But of course they are trying to find more grip. However, the truth is that we have not found more grip. But it is only a prototype, the package for 2024 is not yet finished, some parts were not yet available. They still have ideas, things can still change. But this half step is not enough » he concludes, thus opening up to all the vocations of transfer among his European peers which have already contractually taken the tangent in the direction of Yamaha : alex rins.
