“At Honda we are open to listening,” said Alberto Puig

Alberto Puig will face his sixth season at the helm of the Repsol Honda Team and for 2023 it reunites a pair of MotoGP world champions like Marc Márquez and Joan Mir to try to make up lost ground. The former driver, true to his character, does not shy away from his responsibility and to Honda that they should be an alternative to the title even though they are going through one of their worst moments at a sporting level. The faith in Marc Márquez continues to be blinding and so is his determination to give him the best possible bike and for this reason many internal changes are being promoted at HRC.

“There is a list of winners in this team. It’s not that we have to win this year yes or yes, but it’s something that always happens. As a company we have to give everything we can and try to win the championship . We know that our Competitors have taken a big step forward, and we must recognize and correct it to improve. We are well advanced, recognize the problem. The goal is the same as before”, warned Alberto Puig.

Since Puig took charge of the most successful team in MotoGP history in 2018 replaced the Italian Livio Supo, his duos are: Marc Márquez-Dani Pedrosa in 2018, Marc Márquez-Jorge Lorenzo in 2019, Marc Márquez-Álex Márquez (take the place Jorge Lorenzo should occupy) in 2020, Marc Márquez-Polquez Espargaró in 2021 and 2022 and from 2023 Marc Márquez-Joan Mir.
“The history of the team is always trying to have two drivers capable of winning races. It is true that in recent years there has only been one, Marc, and especially in the last two years competing with an arm and a half thing. out of the norm With the incorporation of Joan we want him to be as high up as possible, that there is always internal competition. We always help them both in the same way to do the maximum for the team’s results. Regarding the adaptation to those motorcycle pilot we have good things and complicated things and Marc managed to overcome his problems and those that should be the benchmark of the bike”, explained Puig.

Find out about his stage signings that “the reason for signing Joan is the same as before with this team, every time a driver is signed it is for something. When Lorenzo was signed it was because he has a wild track record and we understand that he can do well then Jorge stopped the race and at that time we thought that Pol (Espargaró) had the experience to help us because of his previous stage with another brand and we thought we could get information and maximize his performance on the bike. and sometimes make mistakes. In the case of Joan, he was signed because we considered that he has many qualities that fit our mentality, he is a fast driver, experienced and it is for something that he is world champion, it is because he earned it He has two titles and won one with Suzuki in a very thoughtful and worked way and we are very confident that what an g he can do for the team.”

If he had to give advice to Joan Mir, the Barcelonan assures that “He’s experienced enough, a two-time world champion, and he’ll know how to play his part in the team the way he’s called. The saying in sports is to think about themselves, do their business, focus on their team and the bike and compete against everyone, and one of them is Marc. That way they can maximize their potential and the level the team will rise to.”

Regarding the problems that Honda gave in the rear, with undisclosed highsides, they are correcting it. “We have had some problems and that is one because it can lead to serious or fatal consequences, a lot of work has been done in the winter on this issue, particularly the engineers in Japan and Europe that we have and we are very focused on it, but not only on this issue to get a motorcycle is a sum of the components that make it work, that is a very important safety problem to consider.”

Gradually, the Japanese are “allowing themselves to be helped” by European companies to find solutions and adopt foreign talents, the latest case being technical director Ken Kawauchi from Suzuki: “We have changed the internal dynamics of the team and from a technical point of view we are opening up to new possibilities with new partners who are in this business and have great racing experience like Akrapovich (exhausts) who joined this year and we help, other companies like Kalex (chassis) who helped us in the past. Honda keeps its own system, its DNA, how to prepare the bike, but we are open to listen and test of new concepts to improve the bike.”

About Ken-san’s signing“in the case of Ken, or Takeo (Yokohama, the former technical director) who did amazing years and now his work in Japan is really very important, each individual is different, we need more time to understand his direction, but in Sepang he worked really well. We are happy with the new lineup, we will try to support Ken with his character and style and adapt to the new style which in Sepang was different but good.”

About the differences between Honda and Ducati who has been dominating the races for two years points out that “the difference is clear, they have a lot of potential in one lap and we have to improve there. Last year we saw that the difference is bigger in practice than in the races, but Although the difference is. They took an important step forward and this also prompted Honda to say that we will do the same, but now the truth is that they are a step ahead”.

On the loss of the MotoGP effect: “I think the races have changed a bit, because the bikes are a bit different. We had some very bad years, the covid affected and you have to be fair, the Marc Márquez factor became a very important issue, he had his injury “He was a driver who gave a lot of atmosphere to the races and suddenly he disappeared overnight. If he catches up to the competitiveness of this year’s races, we still don’t know if the format will be as exciting. We have to wait and see, the conditions and situations will be met that if the world of motorcycle lost it will quickly recover, the essence is the fantastic nature of this sport”.