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Honda is preparing for a radical change, it has emerged in an interview with DAZN by none other than Alberto Puig, HRC team manager and former racer.
"I understand that a rider, when things don't work, like ours, is very worried, I understand that he thinks about many things, I understand that he talks to others. I understand everything because I have been a rider. We have a contract with Marc, and he hasn't told us anything. But we haven't reached the point where Marquez he told us: 'I don't want to race for Honda next year.' It is obvious that our situation is bad. It is very important to give him a bike he can trust next year. It is Honda who has to convince Marc to stay. And not in words, but with facts."
The bike of the future, or at least of the near future, is already in the garage and Stefan Bradl is riding it, but as declared by the 8-time world champion, he almost hasn't looked at it and certainly hasn't asked for the data.
“Obviously Marc isn't thinking about the bike Bradl is riding here. He'll think about it on Monday. It's true that Bradl's qualifying time isn't bad. He made a good time. It's encouraging. But it's not enough for Marc to look at a motorbike, he wants to try it. Until the riders test it on Monday, it is very difficult to draw any conclusions. When you change something, you can change it little, which is like doing nothing, or you can make a radical change. When a bike doesn't work, you probably need to consider a radical change at all levels. With small changes we are not making progress and I don't think that is the way forward. That's why this time we are thinking of more radical solutions."
Radio-paddock reports that Puig is trying to attract technicians from other teams to the Honda universe, in short that he is going on with a campaign of key personnel acquisitions to meet what Marc Marquez has asked for: real facts that convince him that HRC really wants to change pace.
“We must not forget the history of Honda. In racing there have always been positive and negative moments and there is no doubt that we are going through a very negative moment. But we must not belittle what they have done and we must not take away the credit from them. I want to think that Honda will resolve the situation."
