Honda hit with “expected more” criticism at Misano test: “What worries me is…”

Joan Mir has delivered an aggrieved judgement of Honda’s efforts at the Misano test.

A new fairing (which looks similar to Ducati’s), chassis items and new aerodynamics were on the agenda for the RC213V riders.

But Repsol Honda’s Mir was not satisfied.

“We tried aero, we tried stuff that we’d tried before at the previous test that was not working,” Mir said.

“I was expecting more. I was expecting more from this test.

“To try things properly that weren’t working, to try more things.

“They made a great job on the aerodynamic side but, in the race, we didn’t improve at all.

“I expected a lot more.

“What worries me a bit is that the next test is in Valencia, and that will decide next year.

“We are far, to have one working line, and an idea to make a competitive bike for next year. We are very far from that.

“We need to work harder to make the process of evolution shorter.”

Mir acknowledged the sole positive from the one-day test: “The aero can give you more turning into the fast corners.

“It’s a small thing which helps a lot. Especially at this track, at Turn 11, it was positive.

“For the wheelie, it was slightly better.

“I’m happy for that - but disappointed in the other side.”

However, teammate Luca Marini offered some hope: “We were able to feel the difference in what Honda brought here and I hope that my feedback can help them with the direction to go.

“I think we found some positives not just for the future, but also for the next few races.”

LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco also had some positive feedback, 24 hours after claiming that the “project does not work at all”.

Zarco insisted after a day of testing: “I think we understand more things.”