At the Misano test in 2022, Honda had tested aluminum swingarms from the German manufacturer, Kalex engineering, for the first time in great secrecy. In April and May 2023, Kalex had supplied six complete frames to HRC. Marc Márquez was enthusiastic, at first, but he put them aside after all the falls at the Sachsenring and in Assen in June and July 2023.
Most experts wondered why Kalex's managing director and technician, Alex Baumgärtel, wasn't given access to the Repsol and LCR pits and, therefore, didn't receive any opinions and information from the riders, which was urgently needed for further development after the frames had been completed for the first test laps in about four months time, under lots of pressuree.
In 2012, at the time of the Claiming Rule Bikes, Baumgärtel had explained that twelve months were needed from when the decision was reached to construct the MotoGP frames to their first roll out.
During the first tests and races in 2024, Baumgärtel surprisingly gained access to the pits of Joan Mir and Luca Marini, even wearing a Repsol Honda team's uniform. Nonetheless, he ended his difficult collaboration during the first Barcelona-GP this year because he presumably couldn't get used to the Japanese company's slow speed in development.
Rumors have it that, in the Superbike World Championship, four months had passed at BMW from when a Kalex engine was ordered to the first test. At Honda, it took fifteen months, because the material had to be subjected to endless bench tests beforehand in Japan.
Moto2 statistics show that Kalex's two founders, Alex Baumgärtel and Klaus Hirsekorn, know their craft: the German manufacturer has won the last twelve Moto2 Constructors World Championship titles in a row, as well as a total of twelve Riders World Championships.
Baumgärtel was never allowed to speak to the media about his cooperation with HRC because of a Nnon-disclosure agreement. However, despite this agreement, word got out that Kalex 2023 never knew how many of the six frames had been bent or destroyed by Marc Márquez and who was riding them in Repsol or LCR. But the team members said that, in addition to test riders Bradl and Márquez, Joan Mir and Taka Nakagami sometimes also rode them. The winner in Texas, Alex Rins, was only allowed to test it in Indonesia in the fall, Yet, after his serious injury, he preferred the HRC frame, with which he had shone in Mugello during Friday’s practice.
In 2023, HRC had promised LCR rider, Rins, that he would receive factory material. In the contract, he was clearly promised "updated parts", but availability had to be guaranteed in each case. RC decided on the timing of the delivery of the new parts.
Rins was apparently seen as a threat to team leader Marc Márquez after his victory in Texas, which is why he was denied the Kalex frame. The former Suzuki factory rider, therefore, switched to Monster Yamaha for 2024 despite a two-year contract.
Stefan, in September 2022, Honda tested aluminum swingarms from the German manufacturer Kalex engineering on a GP track for the first time. In spring 2023, Kalex even supplied complete frames to HRC. You were the first Kalex rider to become Moto2 World Champion in 2011. This collaboration has surely given you new confidence after almost four dreary years.
"Yes, because the plan was that a close collaboration would result from this. For me, as a German test rider with experience in Kalex, it was a great connection. I had more reason to bring as much input as possible into this collaboration. Unfortunately, nothing more came of it. In the end, it was too bad."
Alex Baumgärtel was banned from the pits by HRC management in 2023. This meant that he didn't receive any information from the riders, so he didn't know what he should change or improve and who was riding with the Kalex frame and when and who was riding with the HRC design.
"I can't say anything about that. Only Alex can tell you."
You signed a two-year contract as an HRC test rider this spring, namely the 8th and 9th since your start in 2018. What realistic goals have you set for yourself for this period? Honda won't be able to fight for the world championship title in 2025 either.
"This question is difficult to answer. I don't even think the most important thing are the rankings. What's important is that a positive trend can be seen, just like Yamaha has developed in 2024. It was clear that things were looking up at Yamaha. That's the first point. It must also be a primary goal for Honda to reduce the gap from the top. I don't want to make any predictions about exact rankings for 2025, but we can't always lose one to one and a half seconds. Our primary goal must be to consistently be less than a second behind the top in the qualifying laps and in the race pace."
With Aleix Espargaró and Taka Nakagami, you have two new test rider colleagues in Honda. Alex has certainly provided valuable development support in Suzuki and Aprilia. Can we expect him to bring Honda back to winning along with Albesiano? However, with Nakagami, I never had the feeling that he was helpful to HRC in terms of further development. He was groping in the dark for years.
"I won't say anything on this topic. From Pol Espargaró to Mir, Rins, and Zarco, we always hoped that they'd help us. I hope that the collaboration with Aleix will be tight enough and work well. We'll certainly be together in one or two tests, but I think the ball is now in Technical Director Albesiano's court rather than that of the test riders. I'm assuming that he'll have a greater influence on the 2025 motorcycle."
Honda and Yamaha have dominated MotoGP events for years, including in the 500cc World Championship. But then Ducati, Aprilia, and KTM brought a breath of fresh air and dramatically increased the pace of development in the MotoGP. The Japanese are still described as being too conservative. In Formula 1, Honda has long since stationed its engine development in Milton Keynes (England). Yamaha has agreed to collaborate with Engineer Marmorini in Italy on engine development. Not much is happening at HRC in this regard.
"I can't say whether Honda will move parts of MotoGP development to Europe. Honda has a certain approach that has been successful for many years. Moving R&D to Europe would be a huge task. I've heard that they're about to open a department in Italy that will support motorcycle racing, but I can't tell you exactly when that's going to happen."
PART 1: Bradl: “Albesiano will bring new ideas, but Honda will have to implement them quickly.”
PART 2: Bradl: “Like Marquez said, we riders can't do more, it's up to HRC.”