Let's talk MotoGP: Honda or Yamaha, who is the worst performer?

The Japanese are in disarray. Both Honda and Yamaha are struggling terribly in this 2023 season; This is one of the worst in history for the two firms, which could legitimately be described as the two biggest brands involved in motorcycle Grands Prix. Explanations are sometimes hard to find, but the one I put forward a few months ago seems to hold water. The problem appears to be deeper, directly linked to the state of Japan currently.

Today we will try to determine who is the worst student of the two, on two separate points. First, by discussing the results, then, by analyzing the dynamics and the verdict of the track.

 

Honda vs Yamaha, not much to sink your teeth into

 

It doesn't take a great statistician to realize that the situation is not brilliant on both sides. It couldn't be simpler: Repsol Honda is last in the teams ranking. Last. LCR, ninth out of eleven registered, and Yamaha, sixth.

So, yes, indeed, the tuning fork firm is doing a little better if we look at the net results because it is the extremes which influence the averages. And Fabio Quartararo, with his two unexpected podiums in the United States and India (in addition to third place in the Sprint at Assen) strongly contributes to this. But when we look at the manufacturer ranking, on the other hand, the Iwata's men are at the bottom of the scratch, paying for their lack of involvement with the absence of a satellite team.

 

 

Honda doesn't do much better; the two Japanese occupy the last and penultimate positions of this absolutely essential ranking. In all, they shared four podiums, three of which were absolutely inexplicable (with the lunar performance of Álex Rins in Texas, no bad – or very good – pun intended). It's meager in terms of performance, but on the other hand, in terms of abandonments, it's something entirely different.

Hold on tight; Honda Repsol only has 12 blank results, notably because of Joan mir who performs perhaps the worst exercise for an official pilot ever seen. He even does worse than… Franco Morbidelli in 2022, who, in his defense, is much less ridiculous against Fabio Quartararo this season.

 

 

This point is quite difficult to share, but we give it to Honda anyway. Indeed, they still have a victory, in fact, but also a beautiful podium from Marc Márquez in Motegi, much more logical than the other unique performances. And then, at the start of the season, he still managed to show speed compared to Fabio too often in Q1, while he was an ace in qualifying. Want a scary statistic? His last pole dates back to Grand Prix of Indonesia 2022.

 

The dynamics say the opposite?

 

Now, if we put things in context and move away a little from the statistics, the observation is perhaps different. With Marc Márquez in the team, Honda can no longer achieve anything; the truth is also this. We saw the Spaniard make quite pronounced gestures of humor like at the Sachsenring with this middle finger which will go down in history. In his defense, we cannot say that he will not have tried everything; with up to four falls in one morning, he gave it his all but it wasn't enough to make him stay; his signing with Gresini Racing is official at the time of writing.

 

 

In fact, Honda is losing everywhere ; they part, in pain, from one of the greatest pilots of all time, whom they hope to replace by Miguel Oliveira, the latest rumor to date; far from being a bad choice by the way. I find that a significant fact has gone under the radar even though it is the one that most characterizes the season of the winged firm; the defection of Álex Rins. We must understand that a man who won with a bike known to be difficult, even dangerous, decided to leave his team in less time than it takes to write it. This shows the little potential he detected in the RC213V on the one hand, but in the Honda team on the other. In my opinion, humbly, it is a signal which should have alerted Johann Zarco.

If at Yamaha, we still complain about a power deficit, at Honda, the riders push less for fear of falling and getting injured. But don't think that the blues are exempt from all reproaches. The YZR-M1 is no longer progressing, there is no longer a single track to make it better. I want to remind you that in Catalonia, the officials preferred a package inspired by last year, and worse, it was more efficient! In Misano, the 2024 vintage really didn't convince anyone, and that didn't surprise any observer. In 2018, the bosses apologized when both bikes were not in the top 10 in qualifying at Spielberg. Do you realize the decadence?

On this point, we still give the advantage to Yamaha. For reasons that escape me – and which apparently also escape Fabio Quartararo, the drivers sometimes manage to find speed. In India, in Argentina in the rain, in Assen, we saw two committed and diligent men. In addition, Franco Morbidelli finished all the races without ever falling. Her dynamic is not crazy, but still better than that of Joan Mir who, in addition to not performing, very rarely sees the finish.

 

Conclusion

 

Who is the worst student of this 2023 season? In my opinion, Honda. The loss of Marc Márquez and Álex Rins shows that something is wrong in this team, without even worrying about the athlete. Furthermore, you only need to read the comments of Stefan Bradl and Iker Lecuona to understand that it is psychologically tiring to ride the beast. At Yamaha, it's not much more glorious; especially because Fabio Quartararo is wasting a year of his Prime , his best career period. But all the same, sometimes, the Iwata firm brings new features like at the Red Bull Ring with this new system for controlling tire temperature, and even, we can cling to convincing performances, even if they are based on dated ideas.

And you, who do you elect as the worst student of this 2023 season between the two behemoths? Tell us in the comments!

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport