Aleix Espargaró vs Joan Mir: conflicting views inside the Honda garage

Honda wants at all costs to return to the top of MotoGP. The arrival of Aleix Espargaró and Romano Albesiano has borne its first fruit in the 2025 season. HRC wrapped up with two podiums and climbed a step in the Concessions category. But on the eve of the 2026 World Championship, the riders’ first impressions are contradictory...

Aleix Espargaró lapped at Sepang, taking part in the Shakedown, to forge the new RC213V. "Very, very happy with how these days of testing went," the Granollers rider told Mundo Deportivo. "We improved the bike a lot and made a big step forward compared to last season... Even with the new engine we took another step forward. Right now, we need to improve the aerodynamics a bit, but with the progress we’ve made with the bike, we are much closer to Ducati than last year."

After the results collected last MotoGP season by Luca Marini and Joan Mir, Honda moved to division C of the concessions. The engines remain frozen for 2026 as well, but the engineers have worked on peripheral parts, as well as on oils, fuel, exhausts, and electronics. "I think we’ll have one of the fastest bikes on the grid," added Aleix Espargaró. "From my point of view, the Honda and Ducati projects are winning ones."

Joan Mir prefers to keep his feet firmly on the ground after the Sepang test. The 2020 MotoGP champion favors honesty over sensational headlines. He confirms the Japanese manufacturer’s steps forward but highlights the difficulties encountered in the Sprint simulation. The Ducatis are still in a league of their own. "It went well, but if you look at the pace of the Ducati guys, especially Alex, we’re far behind."

Just look at Alex Marquez’s time, who set a 1:57.295 at the start of his long run. A time that left everyone speechless. "If I did that time, the next lap I’d do a 2:01, because I’d completely burn the tire!"

What does Luca Marini think? Better to wait for the next test in Thailand before drawing hasty conclusions. But at the moment, Honda doesn’t seem able to fight for the podium. "We managed to improve the bike in many areas, especially in braking and corner entry. We can be satisfied with that. But there is still a lot of work to do because all the manufacturers have evolved. The gap is more or less the same as during the Grand Prix weekend here. We have to keep pushing and working consistently."