Marco Bezzecchi
Honda’s bid to avoid being the slowest MotoGP outfit in 2025 has started well after an impressive run at the pre-season test in Sepang.
Honda had the slowest bike on the grid last season, and placed fifth among the manufacturers, not too far behind Japanese rivals Yamaha.
Neither of their factory riders managed to break inside the top 20 of the riders’ championship in 2024, as Luca Marini and Joan Mir suffered disappointing campaigns.
Shockingly, the factory outfit couldn’t manage one top-10 finish all year but did begin to make some slight progress by the back end of the season.
LCR team rider Johann Zarco has told Honda how to find four-tenths ‘for free’ after a return of vibration problems that he thinks could bring performance if fixed.
Mir will love Aleix Espargaro’s assessment of Honda’s new MotoGP bike after saying that he was ‘starting to love’ the machine before the Sepang test. Things are already looking on the up.
Honda feel a ‘sense of relief’ after MotoGP’s Sepang test
Honda showed a promising turn of pace on the final day of MotoGP’s Sepang test, with two riders featuring inside the top eight, less than one second from the top of the timesheets.
Mir and Marini disagree over Honda’s 2025 bike, with the former believing that they are much closer to their rivals this season.
READ MORE: Why Honda’s lap times in private MotoGP test are worrying for Joan Mir and Luca Marini
Simon Patterson has revealed that the team are much happier with their position than they were just a few days ago after the launch of their bike.
“They’re certainly much happier with the work Honda have done over the winter now than they were at the team launch five days ago. There is a palpable sense of relief within the Honda camp,” he said.
“Things are not as bad as we expected it to be I think largely based on a disappointing Barcelona test at the end of last year. There has been progress.”
Luca Marini insists Jorge Martin was ‘at the limit’ in Sepang crash
The Sepang test started in dramatic fashion as reigning champion Jorge Martin crashed not long after his official debut for the Aprilia team.
He suffered multiple fractures following a violent highside and sat out of the rest of the test. He could still be a doubt for the season-opening Thailand Grand Prix.
READ MORE: Honda have just done something for the first time ever to send ‘clear message’ to MotoGP rivals
Whether or not surgery will be enough to speed up his recovery is unknown, but it’s a reminder of the dangers of MotoGP.
Honda’s Marini believes all riders were ‘at the limit’ in Sepang which may have been an explanation for Martin’s sudden accident.
With the field spread by such a close margin, there’s more pressure to deliver and make fewer mistakes. It could create more incidents this year.
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