Honda “still searching for answers after bringing a lot of new parts”

Honda’s MotoGP woes have been a big talking point in 2024 as continued struggles have led to rumours that Joan Mir could retire from the sport.

A rain-affected Mugello test on Monday didn’t help matters, with Honda Team Manager Alberto Puig telling MotoGP.com: “We are still searching for answers but it’s also true that we are testing a lot of different parts and testing many things.

“Normally when you try many things it’s because you still don’t have a clear answer to your problems this is why you see so many specifications and parts.

“We are trying to use the test team we have, the concessions and for that reason we are bringing a lot of new stuff to see how it works.”

For Mir, year-two at Honda has been even worse than his first season at the Japanese brand alongside Marc Marquez. 

The 2020 MotoGP champion has suffered a long list of crashes, including the Italian grand prix at Mugello last Sunday.

Speaking about the post-race test, Mir said: “Obviously we had to change our plans a lot as it wasn’t the best day for testing.

“We went out early and could do a few dry laps as well as some wet laps.

“There hasn’t been a lot of wet practice during the season, so it was a chance to work on the setting for that.

“It wasn’t a wasted day as we were able to make some progress in the wet but in the dry we couldn’t make any big progress.”

On the other side of the factory Honda garage, Luca Marini’s adaptation to the RC213V is proving to be very slow.

Despite Mugello being a home track for the Italian, the former Ducati rider was at the back of the field again in the grand prix.

Like Mir, Marini was able to work on some new parts despite rain playing a big role in the one-day test.

“The rain didn’t make for the best conditions, but nevertheless it was good to be able to try the bike some more in the wet because we need to improve in that area,” added Marini.

“At the end we’ve had an interesting day, and we were able to try some new things on the bike.

“Now we have some time to analyse everything and understand the full plan moving ahead.

“All of the team is working hard and pushing a lot, there’s still more work to do but we are on the way.”