“Honda must be responsible for this trend”

Joan Mir finished twentieth on the time table on Friday after the first day at the Circuit of The Americas. Four Hondas were in the bottom four and the 2020 MotoGP world champion criticized the Japanese manufacturer.

When Honda arrived at the Sepang International Circuit more than two months ago with the all-new RC213V, there were high hopes. Not only the Honda camp but also the competition was impressed by this brand new machine. The first test at the Malaysian circuit went well, but a few weeks later in Qatar, most hopes were already gone.

After two Grand Prix weekends in Qatar and Portugal, it seems there is little hope left and the position in the World Cup is clear. Joan Mir is the best placed Honda driver in fifteenth place with just seven points from two Grand Prix weekends, while Johann Zarco (P17) and Takaaki Nakagami (P19) scored five and two points respectively. Luca Marini has not scored a single World Cup point.

On Friday afternoon, Japanese manufacturers, and especially Honda, were hit hard again. The last six places were taken by two Japanese manufacturers with the mighty Honda in the last four. Johann Zarco was the only one to come within two seconds of fastest man Jorge Martin, the other three Honda drivers were more than two seconds off.

Although Joan Mir crashed in the final stages of the session while chasing the fastest time, it was clear that she would not be able to participate in the battle for the important positions. In his press briefing on Friday afternoon after the sessions, the 2020 MotoGP world champion also criticized his Japanese employer.

Joan Mir: “Yesterday (Thursday) I did not have much faith and today (Friday). We have problems, more problems than I expected after the tests at the beginning of the season. The fact that we have this problem on one circuit and another problem on another does not make the situation any better. We do not get better. I can’t really say what the problem is, but I think we went in the wrong direction and now we are paying the price. We have to keep working.

We may have identified a problem and now need to work on it. The truth is that my position today is probably not realistic because I still fell. But I think I had no chance to go to Q2. Last year I was closer, then missed Q2 by a few tenths. At the moment we have a more difficult time than last year at this circuit, which was also in Portimão.”

In the past, HRC has been able to thrive through adversity, but such a revival now seems more advanced than ever. So Mir’s reply was telling.

Joan Mir: “The most important thing is to be responsible for what happens, change quickly and try to adjust the direction quickly. This is very important. This is where we have to be smart with our test days available, the agreement will help us a lot to do it. I will say that as a rider I feel strong: I push and I’m not giving up, but at the moment we have a limit. At first, the handling of this bike was quite good and we could see that it was very fast – not anymore.”

Not only is Honda having a hard time in the MotoGP class, it is also clear in the Moto3 class that it has fallen behind the Pierer Mobility Group (KTM, Husqvarna, GASGAS, CFMoto). Interestingly, Sic58 Squadra Corse team boss Paolo Simoncelli – father of Marco Simoncelli and who has used Honda materials faithfully for years – made a similar statement to that of Joan Mir after the Portuguese Grand Prix.

Paolo Simoncelli: “I would like to criticize Honda, the Japanese manufacturer to whom we have entrusted our results for years. When we extended the contract in August, we were promised engine development and technical changes. The only improvements that were finally made were those of Marco (Grana – chief of staff, ed.), who tried to make the engine as light as possible. Everything has been done to bring them (almost) to the same level as KTM. But if the table cloth is too short, but something will remain open. I thought the Japanese would not have made a promise, but I was wrong.”

The MotoGP riders will return to action on Saturday at 10:10 am local time, 5:10 pm Dutch time at the Circuit of The Americas for the second free practice followed by two qualifying sessions. The 10-lap Sprint Race starts at 3:00 PM local time, 10:00 PM Dutch time begins.

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