RiderTua.com – At Monday’s MotoGP test in Jerez, 4 Honda riders Joan Mir, Luca Marini, Takaaki Nakagami and Johann Zarco rode the bike used by test rider Stefan Bradl in the weekend race at the Spanish GP. Apart from the new chassis components, the aerodynamic changes to the RC213V are also obvious.
Of the 24 test participants, 4 Honda riders were in 16th, 20th, 21st and 23rd place respectively, with Nakagami as the best Honda rider. The LCR Honda rider was 0.921 seconds behind the best time recorded by Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati). Meanwhile the others were 1.2 to 1.7 seconds behind.
Johann Zarco : It’s Not Drama, the New RC213v Has No Progress
Johann Zarco rode this bike several times on the track, but almost didn’t see any improvements. According to him, the bike is only better in one area, but that doesn’t change the time record. Again, according to him, this is not a step forward. However, the data from this test is still useful and will help Honda move in the right direction. It is very difficult to get a bike that is 1 second faster. He hoped there would be progress with this bike, but there hasn’t been and it’s not a drama. “At least he can prepare his bike now at the race weekend, so he can score points in the race,” said the French rider.
Zarco emphasized that it made no sense for him to continue using this bike. The bike should ensure better performance. If that doesn’t happen after some fairing changes, then we’ll have to get rid of it.
Zarco is also driving a new engine configuration, but doesn’t want to reveal it in detail. According to him, Honda is doing many interesting things. But if development lags behind then it is very difficult to keep up. Improvements are coming. It’s just troublesome because progress doesn’t come immediately. Once the team takes the right approach, their times will immediately improve. “I’m looking forward to this moment,” stressed the two-time Moto2 champion.
“As a rider, I have to be patient and accept that I don’t understand certain things. That’s the challenge. It’s not my job either to tell Honda how to work in the test team. All the riders have tested their new bikes and it doesn’t feel like they expected, he said. However, Zarco couldn’t say whether it was worth it for Honda to continue working on this bike. “He is not in a position to say that and he will never say it,” concluded the 33-year-old rider.
