What Honda must do next now it has its ideal MotoGP tech boss

OPINION: The latest Honda MotoGP relaunch has been lined up for 2025 by bringing in Romano Albesiano from Aprilia, the headline signing in a range of changes aimed at catching up with the competition. While the Japanese manufacturer has been slow to wake up to changes, it now must follow through with its plan or risk repeating failures

The appointment of Romano Albesiano as Honda's technical director for 2025 has a powerful symbolic charge for a company so faithful to Japanese philosophy. However, the key to the success of the Italian's signing is no longer so much what he can contribute, but what he is allowed to do.

Last year, a number of major changes were seen at the top of HRC. However, looking at the effect they have had on the results of its two teams in the championship, it is clear that all these moves have not worked.

It was during the 2023 Japanese Grand Prix that Shinichi Kokubu, until then HRC's general technical director, was replaced by Shin Sato, another HRC engineer. Six months later, during winter testing, it emerged that Tetsuhiro Kuwata, the general manager of the entire racing department, was to be replaced by Taichi Honda, who came from the off-road division. The fact is that off-road and MotoGP bikes are similar only in the number of wheels they have, and if the results were bad then, they have been much worse since that restructuring.

At this point last year, with 16 grand prix contested and four more to go, the accumulated haul of the four Honda riders was 189 points, with a win for Alex Rins (Austin) and two podiums as the most significant achievements. It should not be forgotten that injuries sidelined Rins for nine races and Marc Marquez for three.

At the same point in 2024, the brand's riders' points tally is less than half (91 points), while Johann Zarco's ninth place in Indonesia is the highlight of the season so far. In the constructors' table, the situation is even more painful. Honda is last on 51 points, 42 points behind Yamaha, despite having twice as many riders on the grid.

The drop in the RC213V's performance when measured against the benchmark bikes, especially the Ducati, may help to understand why Albesiano's appointment is such a swerve in direction.

Around this time last year, Honda had the opportunity to sign Gigi Dall'Igna, the guru who has been leading Ducati for the last couple of years. The deal fell through and it was business as usual, albeit with some nuances.

The partnership with chassis specialist Kalex was strengthened, but the alliance did not come to fruition. Now the announcement of the Aprilia chief engineer's hiring sends a message that the paddock's strongest contender financially may have finally woken up, albeit belatedly.

For a company as jealous of its philosophy as the one in Tokyo to go looking for a new point of view, such as the one Albesiano will surely bring, is tremendously significant and denotes a willingness to change that until now was not intuited. Whether they let him work and give him enough power to influence the development of the prototype remains to be seen.

Alberto Puig, Honda's team manager since 2018, was in charge of the operation that led to the recruitment of the Italian and carried out an exhaustive search to find the most suitable person for the position required. Having identified the target, he then passed his proposal on to HRC's senior executives for their approval.

This signing is very flashy, but it has to be interpreted as another phase of the comeback operation that Honda has launched

"When you are looking for someone, you go by their profile, their experience and their achievements," said Puig at Motegi this weekend. "Romano has been here for a long time. He has done great things at Aprilia and before that, he was at Cagiva. But, apart from his CV, we think his character can fit very well with the Japanese mentality.

"Aprilia has improved a lot in recent years and it is always interesting to see how our rivals have worked. This championship is becoming more and more like Formula 1, where the engineers and technicians are constantly changing," added the Spaniard, who was finally able to close a deal that had been open for some time.

"We had been thinking about bringing in someone with his characteristics for a long time, but it's not always the right time. At the same time, we know that one person can't turn the tide overnight.

"Pride in competition is bad. If you lose, you have to swallow your pride and see what others do better. There are times when you have to change your philosophy, you have to adapt," concedes Marc Marquez, Honda's former stalwart who departed last year for a satelitte Gresini Ducati.

Honda's poor inertia, with one win in the last three seasons, and Marquez's decision to break his contract early, made some voices in the paddock rush to consider Puig's cycle finished. However, Albesiano's arrival confirms that they could not have been more wrong and that the confidence in his management of the two teams remains intact.

For Puig, this move ratifies the Japanese brand's will to return to the place it deserves in terms of history and budget. "It is true that Romano's role will be very important, and that in Europe he will be our point of reference and the vehicle for all our communication on a technical level," he says.

This signing is very flashy, but it has to be interpreted as another phase of the comeback operation that Honda has launched. An operation with fewer ties to the past, and with a much broader outlook. So much so that they are looking for a new base in Europe, a racing headquarters that would allow them to speed up many protocols that are now delayed by the distance to Japan.