Honda won. Or at least its engine did it. Thirty years after Ayrton Senna's last success, Max Verstappen competed in Formula One, which is enough to write a book. However, it is withdrawing on a large scale because the Tokyo manufacturer has decided to abandon the four-wheeled world. After all, the relationship between Honda and F1 has always been composed of farewell and return (not always successful), unlike the cycling world championship.

The two-wheel HRC is a guarantee...and a battleship. The most successful team returned to the GP in 1979 with the legendary, technical, but ultimately unsuccessful NR 4-stroke oval piston, and in 1983 together with Freddie Spencer won the world championship with the NS 3-cylinder 2-stroke. The manufacturer with the largest resources (technical and economic), a true benchmark.

Or more precisely, because Honda currently doesn't have much ridiculousness in MotoGP. Where did you get into the front? After all, in Formula One, the fact that Verstappen won the championship with a Japanese manufacturer’s engine is relatively unknown, and Red Bull (which has become the team’s energy drink)’s name) Personal mouth. Even when you think of Senna, McLaren will come to mind, of course not Honda. It's like this.

However, in the MotoGP World Championship, this is a different scenario, so losing is more painful. However, the Japanese have a lot to learn on the four wheels, because what they lack on the two wheels is first-class management. Red Bull throughout the season has shown that its team has strategists comparable to Napoleon, not to mention that Max is a jewel in the family.

On the other hand, in MotoGP? All this is on the shoulders of Mark Marquez, when he is away...in trouble. In the past two seasons, the Japanese giant has shown that its legs are very fragile, and three victories (within two years) are entirely due to the champion from Cervera. The team is built around this phenomenon, which is logical, but plan B should always exist. On the contrary, without Mark, Honda becomes almost insignificant.

Two numbers: in 2020 Honda is ranked 5th in the team standings (only ahead of Apulia), 9th in the team standings (also behind the LCR satellite team), and this year Honda is ranked among manufacturers No. 4, and No. 6 in the team. The improvement is entirely due to Mark's re-emergence, even if not full-time. It turns out that although he participated in 4 fewer races, he is the best ranked Honda driver in the World Championship, ranking 7th, and Pol Espargarò (the only leader besides him) Podium riders) ranked 12th, middle and top and Alex Marquez on the 15th and 16th.

Obviously, there is a major problem. Let us make it clear that this is also technical, but at this point, the Japanese have made amendments by revolutionizing the 2022 bicycle. However, for the rest, they are continuing to take a road off the beaten track.

Start with non-existent communication. Now that Marquez is in trouble again (due to double vision), they have tried and tested the strategy for his arm: the less said the better. The promise to be updated before Christmas is like a gift to the world. After all, statements made are often more harmful than hail, so keeping silent may actually be the lesser of two evils.

At least from the perspective of rider management, we have higher expectations for Honda. After successfully retiring Pedrosa and Lorenzo in rapid succession (they quickly set their sights elsewhere to become test drivers), their behavior in the market is problematic to say the least. Signing Alex Marquez might have been a good idea at the time, but transferring him to LCR a year later has ruined the good old days. Nakagami now seems to rely on his passport to free ride, and poaching Pol Espargarò from KTM has not produced any good results.

Although all other manufacturers are shifting in the market to grab the best young drivers or bring them closer (Suzuki and Mir, Yamaha and Quartararo, Ducati and Baniaia, Martin and Bastianini , KTM and Oliveira and Raúl Fernández), they are still unwavering at Honda, relying on the usual Marquez. The result was that Mark was injured last year, and the only substitute was Stefan Bradl.

The hope in 2022 is that Marc is ready to rock from the first test, otherwise Honda may find itself in the same situation as in 2020, without any real championship substitutes, and may play another season in the back. Not to mention that they will have to take action for 2023 at the same time, trying to dig out a top driver from the race, and Mir is the first goal, unless there is any surprise in the Quartararo camp.

For HRC management, everyone is censored, so drawing inspiration from F1 is not a bad idea after all.

GPone Testata giornalistica reg. n° 558 del 30/12/2003 Transferred to the Roman Court

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