Nobody likes to lose, especially Honda. And in 2020, thanks to Alex Marquez, they only got two podiums and no victory in MotoGP. Top brass players at HRC don’t make excuses: “2020 was a complete defeat, but we learned a lot from it, ” said HRC manager Tetsuhiro Kuwata in an interview with Akira Nishimura for mr-bk.jp, together with Takehiro Koyasu, development manager for the RC213V.
The coronavirus pandemic and the absence of Marquez did not have a positive effect on the Japanese designer, but they managed to find the solution to the problem in the mid-season by mainly focusing on the new Michelin tire.
“We still haven’t used the tire to its full potential,” admitted Kuwata. “Last year we I slowly learned that the best way to use these tires was to think outside the box.”
But Koyasu confirmed that there is still a lot of room for improvement.
“Given the increase in performance in the second half of the season, I would say that we used the tire more or less sixty percent.“He explained.” Looking at the qualifying results, Yamaha’s speed is impressive. Judging from the results, I would say that Yamaha got the most out of the tires in qualifying. If we take the circuit into account, there has to be something there for us in terms of tire durability is still lacking. I think we still have a lot of room for improvement. “
That’s their growth goal while they wait for Marquez to get back on his bike.
“We are currently monitoring Marc’s conditions to make sure he returns in great shape and we are also preparing a fast bike for him,” said Kuwata. “If he doesn’t make it back in time, we’ll have Stefan with us like last year, but we’re also looking for ways to reduce his workload.”
This would open a door for Dovizioso, even if the Japanese don’t seem to rely very much on this possibility.
“I do not believe that. There are rumors that Andrea might join us, but I don’t think a driver of Dovizioso’s caliber would be interested.Kuwata closed.