MotoGP Gossip: Honda hardships, paddock headhunting, Lecuona stamina...

- In an interview with Akira Nishimura published by Motomatters.com, HRC General Manager Tetsuhiro Kuwata and RC213V development leader Takehiro Koyasu analyse the factory's least successful season of the four-stroke MotoGP era.

"It is quite simple. We lost entirely throughout the 2020 season," says Kuwata, pulling no punches. "However, we also learned a lot from these defeats, and we believe these hardships will make us even stronger."

Apart from the massive blow of Marc Marquez's injury, Honda struggled with the revised 2020 Michelin rear tyre.

"The question was how to understand the 2020 tyre and how to exploit its ‘feel'," says Koyasu. "We repeated a process of trial and error many times, then started close observation for the rear suspension stroke to deal with the issue we had…" [Motomatters.com]

- It's not just riders that get poached by rival teams, with engineers and team managers often trading places. Among the latest moves is data engineer Jenny Anderson's switch from KTM to Repsol Honda. Mat Oxley at Motorsport Magazine provides a history of the main paddock headhunting. [motorsportmagazine.com]

- Iker Lecuona may not have had any obvious symptoms when he contracted Covid at the end of last season, but the Tech3 KTM rider has revealed it did have a noticeable impact on his stamina. "My cardio results weren't as good as normal. That's why I'm training a lot on my bike this winter and go skiing three or four times a week. I also jog - I really work on myself a lot. It's getting better, but it took me some time to make up for the loss." (Speedweek.com)