It’s certainly not been an easy year for Takeo Yokoyama, Honda HRC’s MotoGP project manager. Between Marc Marquez’s precarious state of health and Pol Espargarò’s difficulties in adapting, the booty of 2021 has so far only been saved thanks to Marc’s true miracle at the Sachsenring. But if we take the German track out of the equation, the scenario is really one of the most disappointing for Honda, which is currently suffering with all the drivers on the track and is obviously not experiencing the best situation from a technical point of view.
In some statements from colleagues at Speedweek, the Japanese clarified the situation and explained in detail HRC’s action plan for the return to the top from 2022. We are talking about the first motorcycle manufacturer in the world, and sailing into MotoGP outside of the top 5 is absolutely out of the question for the Japanese who have been used to being dominant over the past few seasons, especially thanks to Marquez’s incredible talent.
“The first part of the 2021 season was certainly difficult” Yokoyama has admitted. “It’s not going the way we’d like it to. As we are Honda, our goal is to always be at the top where we usually have been in the past. We started with this approach, but didn’t achieve our goal in the first half of the season. It is clear that we have problems. We stand behind the others. I think that’s more than clear. “
According to the Japanese manager, most of Honda’s problems are related to the inability to get the most out of the Michelins.
“What exactly is the problem? I still think our biggest problem is getting the most out of the rear tire that Michelin introduced last year. We’re improving, but at the same time we’re still not there compared to the others. You can also see from the outside that we are trying out new things and ideas. Much is aimed at fully or at least exploiting the potential of the rear tire. “
A problem that, according to Yokoyama, also affects Marc Marquez a lot.
“Of course Marc didn’t drive last year and especially with the new Michelin rear tire. He lacks the experience and the races. He’s back in the 2021 season and his feedback has been pretty good but at the same time I would say that he is still learning this rear tire. But he’s Marc Marquez. He contributes a lot and his feedback has given us a lot of new ideas for the second half of the season. “
For 2021, Honda has also changed its approach to delivering motorcycles to Team LCR.
“Alex, Nakagami and Pol are all top drivers. That’s definitely true. And this year we have the latest development of the bike for everyone. Not just Marc and Pol. They all have the same bike, with different riding styles, different uses and different setup preferences. In the end, however, your feedback is very important. We work with all information. Of course, all riders started with the 2021 bike. That’s what I meant by the same bike. In the past, for example, Nakagami rode the bike from last year. Because of the problems we are facing, we are introducing a lot of new components, not just the frame. Sometimes one suits a driver better, sometimes another. “
Honda also brought a new frame to Austria that Marc had to test.
“It’s true that only Marc had a different frame. But that’s the only frame that we were able to produce during the summer break. We had five weeks, but designing and manufacturing a frame in five weeks is not that easy. Well We could only bring one. We thought about which driver should have tested it first. In this case, because of the concept of the new frame, we decided to ask Marc to give it a try. It was also a risk because we only had one piece. But we all agree that we are more in a testing phase than fighting for a win. “