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MotoGP: Recent Failings Break Decades of Historic Achievements for Honda and Yamaha

Marc Marquez. Media sourced from Motor Sport Magazine.
Marc Marquez. Media sourced from Motor Sport Magazine.

Naturally, here at wBW, we are all about the successes of the motorcycling industry. 

Attempts toward the world land speed record, triumphs in the electric lab courtesy of…well…Triumph, and new tech being integrated for a new age of riding – all of the above get us gunning for the riding season; and unfortunately, writing on the industry’s latest also means logging a few records being broken in the opposite direction. 

Such is the case for MotoGP’s team Honda and Yamaha, who have, according to AMN, “been stricken with historic failings that break the serial achievements of many decades.”

The crash from Emilia-Romagnia. Media sourced from Auto Sport.
The crash from Emilia-Romagnia. Media sourced from Auto Sport.

Before bonnets are twisted, admit it – we kind of knew this was coming.

Recent coverage on a potential new chassis for Honda is now shared with the results of the recent race at Emilia-Romagna, where “Taka Nakagami crashed out, Pol Espargaro retired in pain, Alex Marquez’s ride-height gizmo giz-didn’t and Stefan Bradl overheated and finished last.”

The end result? A four-decade streak where ‘there was not a single race without at least one Honda in the points.’

Marc Marquez crashing out. Media sourced from Auto Sport.
Marc Marquez crashing out. Media sourced from Auto Sport.

Poor Yammie’s not much better; back in November, Quartararo insisted that he wouldn’t sign on to the blue Japanese motorcycle manufacturer until their bikes got better for the MotoGP twisties.

With that bit more or less resolved, Assen’s contributions from the Japanese manufacturer saw ‘the third race this year that none of them – Franco Morbidelli, Andrea Dovizioso, [or] Darryn Binder – finished in the points,’ making Quartararo’s crashing out the more pivotal a problem for the team’s performance. 

Fabion Quartararo crashing out. Med ia sourced from Motorcycle News.
Fabion Quartararo crashing out. Med ia sourced from Motorcycle News.

Now, Ducati’s eight machines wreak havoc all over the result sheets, and AMN points out why the other teams’ riders (Marc Marquez in particular) are struggling so much this season:

“Honda and Yamaha have disappeared down the same design wormhole. They have built fine racing bikes that only one rider can use to win races. 

A REPSOL bike (Marc Marquez) with a Ducati Lenovo bike on his heels. Media sourced from Motor Sports.
A REPSOL bike (Marc Marquez) with a Ducati Lenovo bike on his heels. Media sourced from Motor Sports.

It’s been like that at Honda for the past several years. Understandably. Marc was brilliant from the start, and all development centred around him. 

But his brilliance masked that the RC213V was becoming more and more of a handful, and tossing other fine riders, whose skill was never in question (Cal Crutchlow, for one), into the gravel with painful regularity.”

Honda REPSOL's team. Media sourced from Box REPSOL.
Honda REPSOL’s team. Media sourced from Box REPSOL.

We look forward to seeing what Team Honda and Team Yamaha continue to give us in the coming season. 

Stay tuned via our shiny new webpage, drop a comment down below, and as ever – stay safe on the twisties. 

*Media sourced from Motor Sport Magazine, The Guardian, AutoSport, MCN, Box Repsol, and T3 Middle East*