RiderTua.com – Marquez Crew Chief Santi Hernandez tells the truth despite the bitter truth, Pol Espargaro tries to reflect on why Honda has suffered a setback, after the pre-season test and the promising Qatar series, instead of advancing to the front row but like the word ‘sunmorian’ at the back. The Honda rider pondered more and more, “I felt good with the bike in the pre-season test. But not only me, all the Honda riders are fast: Alex, Taka, Marc also feel good on the bike (RC213V 22)… Looks promising. In our Qatar we had great pace but we are struggling now. It’s hard to explain,” mused the Spaniard who is rumored to be returning to KTM.
Honda slumped without star Marc Marquez.. Having struggled with physical limitations since his return to MotoGP, he remains the best performing rider in the Golden Wing, although Marquez faces new problems on the completely overhauled RC213V for the 2022 season.
There was so much hope placed in the new season and the new bike at the start of the season, where not only Marquez but other riders finally had to be fast and be able to win. But what happened was the opposite. “There is no Honda in the front (row). We have to improve the bike, but it is also true that Marc is not 100 per cent fit and at full power the result could be different,” Marquez crew chief Santi Hernandez told US media.
But at the moment Honda has to improve many aspects of the bike and try to understand what happened when Marc came back and gave him the bike he deserved. Until then, Pol Espargaro and Stefan Bradl must stay in the fight.
How about Stefan Bradl?
What about Marc Marquez’s replacement, Stefan Bradl, Hernandez has gained a lot of experience as a substitute for Marquez in recent years. “This is not a new situation for us (Bradl’s form). .”
“We have to try to find the pace and work with Honda in the development of the bike. It’s important to have a test rider to test the things that need to be done,” said Hernandez.
He probably didn’t think that his new bike would give the team a headache. Even in pre-season testing, the team made a strong impression and seems to be positioning itself with new developments to fight for a win and maybe even a world title. But after the first race of the season, there was nothing left.
Pol Espargaro tries to be optimistic
Pol Espargaro after visiting the podium in Qatar, is now also disappointed. “Things are not going well. We are all in a negative dynamic, which is not conducive to the result.. But we have to keep working, have to change, because there are still many races ahead of us. We are not even half way to the championship and there is still a chance to turn things around,” said the slightly optimistic Spaniard.
“Everything went pretty well during pre-season.. At KTM I used the biggest brake discs, brake pads and calipers that Brembo provides. Last year at Honda we had to go down one level (smaller), I changed the rear brake which didn’t work like it used to.”
“Then in pre-season we moved in a direction that allowed me to use it better. I used even bigger discs, bigger bearings. But since the Indonesian GP we had to go back to the average size brake pack and things went in the wrong direction the worst thing is, we don’t know why..
