Honda had all its hopes set on the return of the Catalan hero to save them from what has been its worst streak in MotoGP since 1982. Marc Márquez had, in fact, been the only pilot capable of taming the RC213 until he broke his right arm early last season. 

But so far things are looking quite bleak for Honda. Their problems have actually worsened during the last Spanish GP, where their pilots suffered a total of six crashes: Stefan Bradl, the Márquez brothers, Pol Espargaró and Takaaki Nakagami. In fact, all of the pilots onboard one of the Japanese machines ended on the floor at the Andalusian track. 

If we take into account the four races (Qatar, Doha, Portugal & Spain) held up to this point in the season, the total number of accidents suffered by the brand is 23! Naturally, looking at these numbers, the Tokyo manufacturer has plenty of reasons to be concerned. 

These harrowing statistics highlight the need to curb the reckless behaviour of their bikes. Honda hasn’t had a single podium this 2021 and its pilots have hit the floor at every single appearance. All in all, one out of every three accidents happening in MotoGP have involved Honda bikes. 

Honda desperately trying to find a solution   

Engineers Takehiro Koyasu and Takeo Yokoyama, leaders of Honda’s technical department, have got down to work in order to try and solve – or at least mitigate – the situation. 

During last Monday’s tests (May 3) in Jerez, for instance, they tried introducing a number of changes to the front of the bike. The RC213V is higher and heavier in the front than in the rear, a structural issue that is the culprit for the loss of stability and which now seems to have been made worse. 

Specifically, Pol Espargaro tested a taller and narrower air intake which replicates that of the Yamaha YZR-M1 model. The intention was to generate greater downforce in that area of the frame.

Pol’s prototype also exhibited larger exhausts, new engine mount points, and even a carbonless chassis alongside the main beam. This week, and after openly testing all of these different features, team director, Alberto Puig, had no choice but to acknowledge that there is indeed something wrong with the behaviour of their bike. onda has not climbed to the top of the podium for eighteen consecutive races, their last triumph being at the 2019 Valencia GP.

Most issues in the remainder of the season

Worst of all, it seems that their misfortune could well extend to the entirety of the current season. Michelin has precisely designed some compounds to try to improve stability and grip at the corners, the ‘Achilles Heel’ of the Asian machines, but these are not to be released until 2022.Speaking about these issues, Álex Márquez recently admitted that “Driving the Honda is extremely demanding and the slightest mistake can end up in an accident”.

His brother Marc, after finishing ninth in Jerez nine seconds behind the winner, Jack Miller, also had acknowledged that: “Where we are losing more time is in the centre and at the exit of the curves, which is where you need to be stronger if you want to be competitive. We need to understand why. “ Well, they have plenty of work ahead of them. 

Images of Honda: Honda HRC.