That HRC cannot afford to continue fighting to get into the points, and that its objective must be to fight for titles again, is something that no one can ignore. The situation that Honda’s competition department is going through in MotoGP is far from what we saw a decade ago, when everyone wanted to ride for them.
Leaving aside the reasons that have led the Japanese giant to be, literally, the last in line by finishing last in manufacturers despite having two more motorcycles than Yamaha, the truth is that HRC is in a very delicate position. Such an award-winning factory, the brand that sells the most motorcycles in the world, can no longer afford to give that image in the premier category.
And MotoGP is very difficult, the factors that influence each tenth of a second are multiple, and when the direction is lost and the rest of the manufacturers start to have the upper hand, turning the tables seems complicated.
That is why the revolution has come to MotoGP and it does so with three key names. On the one hand we have two test riders recently arrived from MotoGP such as Aleix Espargaró and Takaaki Nakagami. While “Taka” knows HRC’s situation perfectly, Aleix comes from a brand that has achieved precisely what Honda is now looking for, going from the last in line to fighting for victory.
HRC’s key change is in the box
But in addition to the two test riders, essential to get a motorcycle that adapts to all riders and is not as critical as the Honda is, a key piece arrives: Romano Albesiano. The Italian arrives, like Aleix, from the Aprilia project and therefore has fresh all the concepts that are needed for a brand to reach the front. His role will be that of Technical Director so, theoretically, he will be in charge of the development of the motorcycles.
Now it is in the hands of HRC to give Albesiano the tools and, especially, not to put traps in his path. And just as the Japanese philosophy implies never giving up, it is also true that the ability to react is not one of its strong points when it comes to racing.
What there is no doubt about is that of the options that HRC had available, signing Romano Albesiano and Aleix Espargaró, in addition to Antonio Jiménez who joins the test team with Aleix, is a sign that they are not willing to throw away the towel.
In fact, from the outside it seems that for the first time in many years HRC is beginning to take steps in the right direction. For now they have had the first joint test in Buriram (Thailand), which will be the scene of the first GP of the 2025 season, and it is surely no coincidence…
