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Romano Albesiano experienced a huge change in 2024, moving from the role of technical head at Aprilia to the same role at HRC for the MotoGP project. This is perhaps the most powerful racing department in the world, which has certainly experienced some tough times in recent years. It's quite a challenge for Albesiano, who, after giving birth to and nurturing Noale's RS-GP, is now working on the RC213V to return HRC to its rightful position.
Before the start of testing in Buriram he agreed to do this interview with us in which we talked about many different topics in the company of our correspondent Riccardo Guglielmetti.
Hi Romano, for you this is the second time here in Buriram with HRC colors.
"Exactly, yes. We came here with Aleix and Nakagami, we had three days of very interesting testing and we come back here today."
It's been a few months now, what Honda have you found? Is everything very different from Aprilia?
"The expectation was to find myself in a great company, with a great tradition, both sporting and industrial, and I would say I found basically what I expected. Aprilia and Honda represent two very different cultures, Japanese culture and Italian culture. Both obviously have very important strengths. There is this willingness of the Japanese world to have an interaction with a different approach that is our European one. In Honda there are already a lot of Europeans, but in a high decision-making position I think it's the first time this has happened, so it's a very important step for them and I'm doing my best to make this thing successful."
This one at Honda is a very complex challenge, how are you experiencing it?
"I have only been here a very short time, actually I have been here a little over a month, and I am trying to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the project, which may be technical, but not only technical. I must say that I have found a reality, from the point of view of the bike itself, which is very good. Some points clearly to be filled are there, but you can see that there has been a lot of work and quality work. Let's say there is no match between the quality of the project and the results of the last year. The quality of the project is much higher than those results, so you have to make sure that you mix it in the best way to improve."
What area are your efforts focused on today to improve the RC213V?
"At the moment, also hearing from the riders, especially Mir after the last Sepang test, there seems to be a strong limitation with this engine. I made the comparison with the Ducati and we are missing 7 km/h of difference in the straight. To date we have made up one, but there are still 6 to be made up. As usual, we need to work on all fronts. The speed down the straight is the result of engine performance, but it is also very much the result of how you come out of the previous corner. So you have to be careful for a moment to figure out exactly where the problem lies. Definitely on the engine we have some interventions planned and we will work. There the more the better, that has always been the case. The focus, though, is definitely also very much in understanding how to construct speed, so working on how the bike turns, how the bike has grip in the first phase, from how it wheelies to how much power it puts on the ground and maybe the performance limited by the engine emerges. It's a whole thing you have to work on, it's not just the engine, I think."
Yamaha is focusing on the V4, what approach do you think Honda needs to make a leap forward?
"It definitely takes a determined approach and taking maybe some risks, a bit more daring, a little more European approach, probably can help. But I don't think a revolution is necessary. It's a company that has won so much and has such a tradition, recent, it doesn't need a revolution. It needs to sort out this project I mean. It needs to sort out some things, but I am optimistic in the medium term definitely."
Do you think Honda lost its direction when Marc Marquez got injured in 2020?
"You know, in a championship where you often find 15 riders in a second, it's a moment not to have optimized everything. Again, the technical part and the part then of overall performance are two slightly different things. If one part of this mechanism is not optimized, you find yourself right at the bottom. So it's not that there's a disaster absolutely, it's a matter of even fine balances that take you up or down. So I explain it by a series of mistakes that led there, however, nothing dramatic or unrecoverable."
How are you experiencing this technical challenge?
"Clearly I have no theme of revenge, at all. I had a wonderful time at the company where I worked before, which I still thank tremendously. Then came an offer from a company like Honda, and there is also the matter of curiosity if you like. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience that can happen and I'm taking it with a great desire to do one thing well, to make my contribution. There's a lot of curiosity and desire to move forward and see what we can do, because it's really an experience to tell your grandchildren about."
There is the present, but there is also a not-too-distant future to manage, because in 2027 everything changes.
"It's quite a challenge from a technical point of view, because there it's no longer about doing an evolution of a project, but it's about starting from a blank sheet of paper and imagining a new reality, so it's extremely challenging from an engineering point of view. We are doing this exercise, which is extremely costly for the manufacturers, it is a very challenging game for engineers, but let's also remember this. The challenge is to understand it as best you can and simulate it, because at this point with the simulation tools you have you can have a lot of help. So probably those who have the best simulation tools in this sense will also have an advantage and those who have more also insight in this sense will be able to take advantage of it. So it's very nice, very interesting."
Before you Aleix Espargarò came to Honda. What did he say to you as soon as he got off the bike?
"I don't know if I can tell you. Let's say he came down optimistic, knowing that there are things to be done, but that the base is absolutely not to be thrown away."
How do you think you will arrive at Valencia, where it is plausible to see the real Honda?
"I don't know, I honestly haven't thought about it. I'll throw it out there, it would be nice to have one or two riders in the top ten, something like that would be in my opinion already a good result for this year and the next year it has to be different. The expectation must already be a little bit higher."
One last question about your history with Aprilia. You took it to success in racing, but a world title was missing. Are you disappointed about that?
"I lived the entire history of Aprilia MotoGP from the beginning. I can say in some respects, I was one of the people who made sure it went there into MotoGP. From the way we started, where I first underestimated the difficulty of the undertaking, to have come to win races, to fight it out in so many situations, for me it was already more than enough. Then they move on, they continue, they will surely also have that rider who expects to be able to fight for the world championship, maybe not immediately, but by the end of the 1000 era, so I passed the baton, but I have no regrets. There was 2022 in which we cradled that expectation for a moment, but I can say that I am satisfied with the results achieved. More could have been done, definitely, definitely more. That's okay, though."
