MotoGP, WSBK: Honda is last everywhere

This season, the rankings of the manufacturers' championships in MotoGP and WSBK will have revealed two points in common. Their leader, which is Ducati, dedicated both to Grand Prix and in the discipline reserved for machines from the series. And the one who brings up the rear, which is none other than Honda, the world's leading motorcycle manufacturer which therefore finds itself last everywhere...

It is a historic situation whose factory Honda would have gone well. But it was recorded on the evening of the last race of the campaign WSBK at Phillip Island : it is indeed the winged coat of arms which brings up the rear of the manufacturers engaged in the two major categories of the speed-motorcycle planet, namely the MotoGP and the World Superbike.

There will therefore have been no consolation for the Tokyo firm this year. At least in its motorcycle division, which is still its core business. We will therefore recognize his great success in Formula 1 under the Red Bull banner. A recipe perhaps to meditate on for the future. In the meantime, it is the immediate news that worries Honda. Who will certainly not be able to repeat such a disaster in 2023.

No doubt, but for the moment, we do not see the RC213V coming which would put HRC back on track any more than the CBR triple R which would be the tree likely to hide the forest. It must be said that there is work to be done once we have made this assessment... In just one season, the RC213-V knocked down 21 opportunities for both Pol Espargaró and Alex Marquez. 18 Falls were recorded by Marc Marquez who has a higher average than the others because he ran less. As for Takaaki Nakagami, he fell to 12 times. Which gives us a total of 72 accidents. When it comes time to take stock, the MotoGP manufacturer rankings say this: Ducati 448, Yamaha 257, Aprilia 248, KTM 239, Suzuki 198, Honda 155.

Honda hits its lowest point doing worse than anyone else

In WSBK, things are not better. Yet the pilots, Xavi Virgo et Iker Lecuona, are young, aged 25 and 22 respectively. They are also talented. But here too, the motorcycle does not help them. Álvaro Bautista, the new title winner this year after finding his Ducati, could talk about it to his satisfaction. The ranking of Superbike manufacturers is just as clear as that of MotoGP: Ducati 632, Yamaha 577, Kawasaki 530, BMW 259, Honda 258 and therefore still last. While Ducati takes everything after very difficult years, Honda hits its lowest point doing worse than anyone.

And now ? Marc Marquez defined the path, by simply observing the paths traveled by Ducati in particular and the two other European manufacturers in general: HRC will have to start from scratch. The pilots are there, at least for now. We now need a structural change that the eight-time World Champion has been demanding, and even publicly, since his return to the paddock at the Austrian Grand Prix. A major reorganization of the team is required and, above all, a new way of developing, more immediate and radical. But Honda does he really still have the will? The months that follow will be crucial, from every point of view.