Honda is currently struggling through its toughest MotoGP season since it raced the radical oval-piston NR500 four-stroke against the dominant 500cc two-strokes in the late 1970s and early 80s.
In some ways this is no surprise because GP racing’s most successful manufacturer has been missing its top rider pretty much since he was injured during the 2020 Spanish GP.
Marc Márquez won six riders’ titles and helped Honda to six constructors’ titles between 2013 and 2019. Since then Honda has been out of the race, just like Yamaha when Wayne Rainey’s career ended in 1993, like Suzuki when Kevin Schwantz retired in 1995 and like Ducati when Casey Stoner left in 2011.
“We have these entry highsides because it feels like the rear is never grabbing the asphalt.”
What does this tell us? That motorcycle racing is very much a human sport, much more so than car racing. Even now, when MotoGP bikes are packed with Formula 1-inspired technology, it’s still the rider that makes the difference, not only in race results but also in machine development
“Integration of the rider to the bike is way more critical than in Formula 1,” says legendary F1 engineer John Barnard, who also worked in MotoGP in the early years of the 990cc four-strokes. “I don’t think all the riders want the bike to do the same thing, so you’ve got to take what you’ve got and take it close to what the rider wants.”
Thus removing Márquez from that equation has hurt Honda, especially because HRC engineers have been integrating the RC213V towards his remarkable riding technique for the past decade.
Some fans wonder why engineers do this – look to their fastest rider to lead the way in development. Because all that matters is winning races and championships. Finishing a race with four or five of your riders in the top five is very nice – like Honda often did with its sublime RC211V – but all that matters is winning the race and you only need one rider to do that. So, yes, Marquez’s genius has put Honda in a hole.
In 2019 Honda won the riders and constructors titles with Márquez and the RC213V – since then the company hasn’t won a single title
Honda redesigned its RC213V almost completely for 2022, largely to get more performance from MotoGP’s latest rear slick, introduced two years ago, which changed the dynamics of MotoGP. Pol Espargaró’s third place at the season-opening Qatar GP suggested Honda had got the bike right, but no podiums since then suggested otherwise.
“What Honda is looking is more rear contact,” says Espargaró. “Not just grip in acceleration but also rear contact in entry, where I cannot apply as much rear-brake power as I want to because the rear tire always seems to be floating. This is very difficult and this is why we have these entry highsides, because it feels like the rear is never really grabbing the asphalt.”
This is a surprise, because the 2022 RC213V was specifically designed to make the most of the grippier rear slick with its softer casing. However, MotoGP machine balance is becoming more and more tricky, as the racing gets closer and the perfect balance between the front and rear Michelins becomes harder to find.
“The bikes have to be very, very balanced between the front and the rear,” says HRC test rider Stefan Bradl, who has been subbing for Márquez, which has had the knock-on effect of restricting his testing outings. “This is what we are missing. We have one strong point, which is straight-line braking. Otherwise the bike isn’t in balance – the front turns, but the rear doesn’t, so the whole bike doesn’t want to work together.
“Something is missing to give us smooth riding, so we always have to fight on the bike to get what we want – braking and turning – which makes riding very difficult and inconsistent. Then it’s easy to make mistakes because things aren’t smooth and working together.”
Stefan Bradl – subbing for Marquez has made it difficult to carry out all his usual testing duties, further affecting RC213V development
This is one reason why Honda’s current four riders: Espargaró, Bradl, Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Márquez have suffered many crashes, which damages rider confidence, which also affects machine development, because the riders become gun-shy and can’t push to the limit , which is the only place to learn.
I asked some rival MotoGP engineers what they thought about Honda’s problems, looking from the outside in, because all engineers watch their rivals very closely.
“Nowadays there is only a difference of a millimeter here and a millimeter here between all the bikes, so I don’t think Honda have any technical issues they can’t fix,” one engineer told me. “It’s more how they manage things and make decisions.”