MotoGP has arrived at Aragon, and for Honda and Luca Marini, fresh from testing at Misano, it is time to put themselves to the test again in a hitherto difficult season that has seen the Japanese manufacturers occupy the back of the grid on a permanent basis. On the horizon, however, it seems that the clouds around the Japanese manufacturer's future are about to begin to dissipate, the Misano tests seem to have produced steps forward, and the new aerodynamics to be homologated should bring further benefits. For that matter, aerodynamics now rules the day, "it's the best aspect to work on in terms of cost-benefit," said Marini, who is looking to the next two Misano rounds as a crucial moment in the Japanese manufacturer's development.
Here in Aragon you will race on a new asphalt.
"Yes, I haven't had a chance to see it yet," Luca Marini began, "I know that Acosta and Miller have tried it and it is really fresh, in fact they had some problems with tire temperatures, but maybe with Michelin we won't have the same problem."
You are back from the Misano test, what did you work on?
"Yes, at first it didn't seem like too busy a schedule, but in the end we tried a lot of different things and by the end of the day I had done 100 laps. So it was a challenging day but it was also positive, because I think we took a step forward in terms of aerodynamics. I feel that we are reaching a good balance on the bike, although we will have confirmation in the official tests at Misano where we will try again the carbon package, the idea is to homologate it for the second race at Misano."
So next month seems to be crucial for the future of the project.
"I don't think so exactly, I think each race has its own importance, although obviously the Misano ones will be important tests that were planned at the beginning of the season. This is obviously a key time for the engineers to concentrate a lot of the development, in terms of components and packages. The tests between races obviously have their usefulness but not having that kind of planning we have fewer things we can work on, so we try to make the most of them as we can. I hope that the feeling on the bike will improve a lot and not just a little as it has been so far. We have taken steps forward, but they have been small steps and we need more. Ideally, we should be able to find those few tenths that would allow us to at least fight for Q2."
In working with aerodynamics, is it fair to say that Honda has not yet found that balance that allows you to probe the limits of the bike?
"Not so, compared to the beginning of the year now you can ride the bike, while before there were some strange things and it was hard to ride well. Now the bike is working as it should, the load transfer on the rear has improved but there are still a lot of downsides to refine, and this is one of the problems because we can't focus on just one aspect. Slowly we are working on each of them, the steps forward we have made, maybe even gained a few tenths, but the same is true for the other manufacturers and so in the end we remain down there at the bottom of the standings. With aerodynamics instead we can shave away a bit more, the bike turns better and is more stable, brakes better, and the rider can push more because the limit of the bike has shifted. Before, on the other hand, you had to take risks and you didn't know if it would be worth it."
Quartararo pointed out that engine-wise, the inline-four is not so much worse than Honda's engine. In today's MotoGP, is it still possible not to have to follow the path laid out by others? Can the manufacturer still allow itself freedom in development?
"This is a complex question and would need a long answer. The engine, of course, is the most important part of a motorcycle, and it is difficult to achieve certain power without compromising other aspects. Yamaha's goes really strong, I was behind Rins in the Sprint and it's as strong as KTM's and Ducati's, but they probably have problems in other aspects of riding. We similarly make the same efforts, but bring with us downsides that the Japanese manufacturers are not able to fix at the moment. For me, aerodynamics is that element that in terms of cost benefit is what pays off the most, it's no coincidence that everyone focuses a lot on it. We are further behind, but in my opinion with the fairing we will have in Misano we will be aligned and we will be much closer. Then of course there is the electronics although in this the Honda is the best in my opinion, although the single ECU limits us."
Testing has increased but the tires available are still limited, is this a problem?
"Yes, we try to use everything we have at our disposal, we take advantage of the tires used by Bradl and use them until the last lap of life they have, but clearly it also depends on the circuit so we are managing that aspect as well. Overall it is better to have different feelings with the tires during testing than during the races. Michelin has made some very good changes to the tires this year so we take every detail into consideration."
Nakagami announced that from next year there will be an official test rider in Japan.
"It's positive, it's a point in our favor. Having a Japanese rider who can communicate with the engineers in the same language will improve communication, not to mention that he is still a very fast rider so he will be able to provide the right feedback to the manufacturer, while he personally will get to stay close to the family."
Is there a rivalry felt between the Japanese manufacturers at this stage of development?
"I think not, in the end if you don't fight to win you don't need to, that's the only goal. The climate in the box as far as I'm concerned is great, I've settled in very well and we give as much as we can, even if then at the end of the day the results are still not as satisfactory as one would like."
This year, more competitiveness was also expected from Ducati's other rivals, but it isn't there either. What is this due to, does the ability to take advantage of the Michelins also have something to do with it?
"The leap forward they have all made, but Ducati was starting from a better base. They probably took the same step forward, maybe a little more, but the distances remained the same and that is leading them to win everything. For sure the tires have also affected things, because on tracks with a lot of degradation like Barcelona the Aprilia usually made the difference, but that was not the case this year."