Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/1526445
VOLUME ISSUE SEPTEMBER , P147 As for race wins, Honda's 313 to Yamaha's 245, MV's 139 and Suzuki's 97. But Honda's last victory was in 2023. At the U.S. GP with Alex Rins, it was the only one that year and followed a winless 2022. It's not just a fallow period or a couple of years of near misses. It's a juggernaut careering down the canyon, completely out of control. It's hard to comprehend. Yet also quite explicable. Honda has been left behind by innovative European engineers, whose cre - ative interpretation of the rules has outflanked the Japanese. Is this a matter of being too literal-minded? A national char - acteristic of obeying rules rather than trying to find a way around them? That's a tempting conclusion but a touch too simplistic. Too stereotypical. Yet it's true that Honda's initial racing success in the 1960s was very much the opposite of innovation. Soichiro Honda relied on proven engi - neering principles, executed better. Before you argue, adding more cylinders and extra revs isn't exactly innovative; doing so successfully is, however, fruitful for racing success. Modern prescriptive technical regs mean Honda can't do that anymore. Sadly, everybody in racing feels nostalgia not just for the five-cylinder 125 and six- cylinder 250/350 of the 1960s but also for the sonorous and largely superior V5 of the first five years of MotoGP. The innovation that has left Honda (and Yamaha) trailing is much more blue-sky. Most of it has come from Ducati's Gigi Dall'Igna, an accomplished circumventor of restrictions and exploiter of loopholes. Ducati pioneered wings 10 years ago and, ever since, their aerodynamics have been a step ahead of their imitators, with the now-and-then exception of Aprilia. While the rest copied the fairing-nose wings, Ducati switched to fairing-flank adorn - ment. Ducati then pioneered the so-called "spoon" scoop on the swingarm, which they success- fully argued, against protests led by Aprilia, was a device to cool the rear tire rather than an aerodynamic aid. The extra downforce it provided was just an ancillary, a bonus. Then followed stegosaurus spines on the seat, as well as winglets on fork sliders and swingarms, all evading new rules that shortsightedly applied only to existing fairing wings. Honda was slow to copy and is still struggling to catch up. The same applies to the genuflecting ride-height devices, another Ducati trick. This neatly outflanked long-standing rules banning active suspension. And when the rivals copied the front- suspension adjustments, Ducati led the way with squatting at the rear as well. Criticized for being too stubborn and too rigid for this season and the future, HRC has reportedly radically restructured its approach. An urgent attempt to be less linear. Rumors of a new technical base in Milan, fol - lowing Yamaha's long-ago move to Italy, suggest something more than the current logistical base in Spain. It means opening up to European influences. Hiring Aleix Espargaro to join Stefan Bradl in the Europe-based test team is to be backed by current rider Nakagami's new test-rider role back in Japan. Christian Pupulin, ex-Ducati and ex-KTM, joins Honda next year, a very experienced track engineer. As important, 2027's MotoGP restructure: ride-height devices banned, aerodynamics cut right back. This should also play to Honda's strengths: building motorcycles rather than clever- clogs two-wheel aerodynes. The time frame is also prom - ising for racing's classic senior factory: the pace of improve- ment this year has been very slow. Chantra's move to Honda, could prove inspired—the bike returning to full strength just as he gains enough experience. Likewise, things could come good for current Repsol incum - bents Joan Mir and Luca Marini. And Ogura? As he said to the press at the confirmation of his switch to Aprilia: "I've grown up with Honda. Maybe I can finish my career with them. Let's see." CN