Cycle News

VOL. 53 ISSUE 46 NOVEMBER 22, 2016 P127 must still be a well-regarded title, because it was Honda's only one since Rossi had quit the brand at the end of 2003, leaving the factory team in considerable disarray. Rossi had run rampant again in 2008, for his third title on a Yamaha, and would do so again in 2009. And Yamaha won it again in 2010, this time with Jorge Lorenzo. By now, Nakamoto had secured an important ally—tak- ing on gruff-voiced Livio Suppo from Ducati. The Italian would rise rapidly with the team, and this association would bear real fruit when Suppo in turn lured 2007 champion Casey Stoner to Honda. At the same time, the new structure saw Honda revert to an austere management image, a big part of Rossi's reason for leaving. There has been a high staff turnover, and tension within the camp. This was, however, much at odds with Nakamoto's personal image. To outsiders, he is an affable soul, with a ready smile. Resident in Britain for many years, he speaks good Eng- lish and has a sharp and ironic sense of humor. Stoner was, of course, a bril- liant natural talent, but Ducati hadn't kept up with his abilities. He could still win on the Des- mosedici, but he also crashed a lot, and the scale of his achieve- ment on the fading strength of the Italian bike was thrown into sharp focus when Rossi climbed onto the same bike, and strug- gled dismally. Not surprisingly, Stoner made the Honda look marvellous. Absolutely smashed the 2011 title, and left Nakamoto and his cohorts looking like superstars. Would probably have done the same in 2012, too, but for injury. Lorenzo and Yamaha took it again. HRC's salvation was not long in coming, however. Stoner left, Marquez joined. We all know what happened next: a striking rookie title in 2013, and absolute domination in 2014. Did it again in 2016, and only missed 2015 because he fell off too often. Of course it is the team boss's role to recruit the right rider, and in securing Marquez, Nakamoto covered himself in glory. But to what extent has the rider carried Honda? In 2016, to a very great extent. The RC213V underwent a significant technical change this past season, with the direction of crankshaft rotation reversed, bringing it in line with all its rivals. This change makes a big differ- ence to how the bike behaves. The torque reaction is the direct opposite, so at points where the revs are changing fast—corner entry and exit—the change in at- titude is the opposite of what the riders were used to. Combined with difficulties in adapting from Honda's in-house software to the new unified Mag- neti Marelli package, the 2016 Honda was a real handful. It was tricky on corner entry, and even worse on acceleration. Not short of power, but short of the ability to put it to the road. Marquez's ability to overcome these weaknesses was the stuff of legends. It was his combina- tion of growing maturity and genius ability that took the 2016 RCV to the top of the champi- onship charts. The next-best Honda was Pedrosa's, in a very distant sixth. There are big changes coming for next year's RCV. Tests after the last round at Valencia re- vealed a change from "scream- er" firing intervals to the gruffer closer firing intervals, sometimes dubbed "long bang." This brings Honda even more into line with its rivals Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki. Marquez saved the day for HRC in 2016. A gift for the departing big boss. It meant that Nakamoto could go out on a high. Now it will be somebody else's job to make an RCV that can be- have itself. Although Marquez will still be there to win anyway. CN

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