Honda Chief Reflects On Challenging Year - 'Constant Research' For Performance

Saajan Jogia | Jan 2, 2025

Apr 12, 2024; Austin, TX, USA; Joan Mir (36) of Spain and Repsol Honda Team during practice for the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas at Circuit of The Americas. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images / Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Honda Racing Corporation team manager Alberto Puig reflected on a difficult 2024 MotoGP season, where the team faced challenges competing at the back of the pack. However, glimpses of progress emerged in the second half of the season. While Puig acknowledged significant improvements, he admitted the RC213V MotoGP bike remains far from competitive. Consequently, Honda is engaged in "constant research" to further develop the bike for the 2025 season.

Johann Zarco of the satellite LCR team showed some progress in the second half of the 2024 season, finishing with 55 points, but it was only enough for 17th place in the standings. His top performances included a P8 at the Thailand Grand Prix and a P9 at the Indonesian Grand Prix. Addressing the challenging situation, Puig told MotoGP.com, as reported by Crash.net:

“It’s not been easy, clearly. The results are not the ones we want.

“It’s been a year that, [in the first half] of the season, we were trying many solutions, and in the second part of the year we could more or less have some idea of what can work, and not.

“We made some improvements, not as much as we would have liked, but we made some improvements and we are in constant research of how to prepare next year’s machine.

“Still we didn’t make the results we are looking for, but from an engineering point of view they are understanding more and more how to proceed, where to go, and how we have to do [it], which is important.

“But this probably takes some time to see it on paper, but the only thing we never lost was our will to come back; this is the will that drives you to keep on going, even though we are clearly behind, and this is a fact.”

While the factory Honda rider lineup of Luca Marini and Joan Mir stays the same, Puig acknowledged that it was difficult for 2020 MotoGP champion Mir to accept the situation, who finished 21st in the riders' championship, and hopes that he remains motivated. He added:

“He is already a World Champion in MotoGP, so the current situation is not so comfortable for him, the bike is not at the level [to be competitive].

“He’s trying, he crashes, obviously, because when you are a champion you’re pushing, you want to have the result. But still things could not match, and we hope that he can keep his motivation up even in difficult times."

Speaking about Marini, who finished 22nd in the championship, Puig said:

“[Marini] is very analytical. He could be working for 24 hours, because he really loves this. He is really trying to give all of his information, and this is from a working point of view.

“From a human side, he’s a really nice guy, [...] he’s super-polite and respectful.”