HONDA RC213V
Repsol Honda: Marc Márquez, Joan Mir LCR Honda: Alex Rins, Takaaki Nakagami
HONDA DID NOT WIN A SINGLE RACE last year; the first time that has happened since 1981 (with the oval-piston nr500), so the company has a lot of catching up to do. honda also have a new technical director, ex-suzuki tech boss Ken Kawauchi, whose job is to steer it in a better direction.
the 2023 rC213V does not look much different from the 2022 bike, which might come as a surprise, but, in fact, one of the reasons honda struggled last year because hrC totally changed its machine and there is so little testing time nowadays. although engineers believe the bike’s base to be all right, it needs a lot of fine-tuning.
if you looked closely in pit-lane during testing, it was easy to see that there are a lot of crucial detail changes for 2023: honda are experimenting with several revised chassis, different engine positions, aprilia-style ground-effect aero, and so on.
‘i feel more potential in the 2023 bike, but, at the moment, we are still far away,’ said Marc Márquez. ‘what i’m really looking for is better throttle connection while exiting corners, because this is where the Ducati makes the difference. our engine is powerful, but we don’t have traction.’
honda’s best news is Márquez’s health following three horrible years that followed a serous arm injury in 2020.
‘on the physical side i feel really good and, for me, this is the most important [thing],’ he added.
new teammate Joan Mir follows in the footsteps of pol espargaró and Jorge Lorenzo, both of whom had a horrible time at repsol honda. however, suzuki’s 2020 MotoGp champion seemed happy enough in testing.
‘the honda is very different, so i have to change my riding style a bit—you need to attack more on the brakes, especially in the second phase of braking, into the corner,’ he explained. ‘But i’m happy. i’m learning to ride with that style and enjoying the process. But we are still far, especially from Ducati.’