Honda Copies Ducati in MotoGP: Backing Youth and Speaking Italian

The 850cc MotoGP era represents an opportunity for Honda to return to prominence. For this epochal regulatory change, HRC is preparing meticulously and, on paper, making all the right moves.

An intense program of private testing (Takaaki Nakagami recently busy in Barcelona, frequently between Motegi and Sepang), a robust hiring campaign for engineers and prominent paddock figures— all without neglecting the resource that should always be at the heart of any project: the rider. In this regard, adopting a philosophy that brought Ducati back to success in recent years.

It will only be announced in September, but at the end of 2025 Honda has secured Fabio Quartararo with a lucrative two-year deal. The rider they needed, for speed and pedigree, to provide performance guarantees. How “El Diablo” adapts to the new RC214V will only be discovered from December onward, but there’s no question this is a major coup for the Tokyo giant.

Having secured a top rider, Honda has simultaneously locked down the best prospects from Moto2. Much like Ducati did in the early 2010s, moving ahead of the competition by taking standouts from the middle class and developing them within the team on multi-year contracts. Diogo Moreira, set for a promotion to the factory Honda HRC team, was the first; David Alonso the second. Just as Ducati once did with Pecco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini and, more recently, Fermin Aldeguer. With fewer bikes available (4 compared to Ducati’s former 8), but the same philosophy.

It will also be a Honda that speaks a lot of Italian in some key roles. From technical director Romano Albesiano to the signing of Davide Brivio in a position to be announced later. They won’t be the only Italians at Honda HRC, considering that logistics—based right here in our Bel Paese—will be managed by a current familiar face from the Moto2 circus.

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