Puig: “Honda’s history shows they never give up”

In 2019, Honda won the triple crown: driver, manufacturer and team. But all this is to the credit of one: Marc Marquez. The Catalan has never finished worse than second with the exception of the GP of the Americas when he crashed while leading comfortably. 

And then there was this unfortunate race in Jerez in 2020 during which the eight-time world champion fractured his humerus. Since then, things have been very different in the Honda clan. Only two podiums in 2020 thanks to Alex Marquez, but no victories. It was not until his brother's return that he saw a small glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel. 

Only one podium in 11 races 

Marquez helped Honda return to victory at the 2021 German GP, ​​ending the factory's longest run of unsuccessful races since its official return in 1982 (21 races in a row). In the process, he also ended Honda's longest streak without podiums (11 races). 

This year, the winged manufacturer has only one podium thanks to Pol Espargaro's third place in Qatar. So it's been 10 races since there hasn't been at least one Honda in the top three. 

At Silverstone, Honda could thus equal its longest drought in terms of Top 3 finishes. “It's not a good season for us,” said Alberto Puig, Repsol Honda team manager, during the press conference bringing together representatives of the six manufacturers in Assen. There is no need to go into further detail, we are clearly not competitive. We have to progress and that's what we're trying to do. We can say it in many different ways, give a long explanation, but the truth is that we need to improve and change our process (…). In the history of Honda, we have had more good times than bad in terms of results. Today we are experiencing a bad one. We have to solve it. »

For Honda to regain some of its splendor, Puig emphasizes that it will be necessary to change the working method. “The history of Honda shows that they never give up,” he said. We can take a little or a lot of time, we know we will get there. We probably need to change our way of thinking. The key point is to not give up in the desire to find a better solution. »

“The priority is the complete recovery of his arm, there are no questions on this point”

Honda can already give up on the title and the first step of the podium seems difficult to achieve. As team manager, Puig of course hopes for the return of his spearhead before the end of the year to at least test the new RC213V in preparation for the 2023 season, but not before having fully recovered. “If possible, it would be very good if he could try the bike, say, after the summer, at the end of the year. It would be best especially for our engineers to understand the direction to follow. But the priority is the complete recovery of his arm, there are no questions on this point. This is the way we do it. »

⏳️ pic.twitter.com/4YhWORFrXc

- Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) July 11, 2022

The 2023 “transfer window” 

Marquez having signed a four-year contract, he is still guaranteed to ride for Honda until 2024. On the other hand, Espargaro should return to KTM within the Tech 3 team (team in which he took his first steps in MotoGP on a Yamaha in 2014). It is Joan Mir who is expected to officiate alongside Marquez. “When the Suzuki story came out, we were surprised,” Puig said. Obviously, I think the Suzuki riders spoke to everyone, that's normal. There are different options and we are considering them. We said from the start that it would take Honda longer to decide. And here we are. There are possibilities, big possibilities too. »

As for bringing Ai Ogura, who is fighting for the Moto2 title, to replace Takaaki Nakagami at LCR, Puig replied: “(…) regarding Moto2 riders, it's something that is not yet on the table. The championship is underway, and in the event Ogura gets a good result, it's something we'll probably discuss in Japan. »