Puig: “We didn’t have a year to remember, that’s obvious”

Aprilia, KTM and in particular Ducati have pushed on the level in MotoGP over the last couple of seasons.

That’s made it very hard for the likes of Honda who have failed to provide a bike good enough for Marc Marquez to rival its competitors with. 

• Acosta: “I have a lot of things to learn to be competitive” 
• KTM: “We love Jack Miller, his attitude was incredible”

Instead Honda were the fifth best manufacturer in the class in 2023, and Puig admits the results achieved weren’t good enough.

Speaking to MotoGP.com, Puig said: “It wasn’t very good. That’s obvious, you know! We didn’t have a year to remember. We never found the way. 

“We started well in Portugal with pole positions with Marc, but then the crash, then the injuries and also Joan trying to understand the bike. 

“A lot of ups and downs but a lot more down to tell you the truth. We had some okay results like in India and Japan. 

“Fortunately for the fans in Japan, Marc could get a podium. But from a team point of view this was not a good year for Repsol Honda.”

Puig then cited the improvements made by their rivals as another reason for Honda’s struggles in finding a competitive package at any point in 2023. 

Puig added: “We did not make the step that is needed in this class. Our competitors made a really big step and although we are making steps and trying to understand our weak points, still it is hard to not achieve our targets. 

“Clearly, the competitiveness of the bike is not there. We need to change and try to make a different approach. 

“In Japan they are restructuring, not only the people, but the way to proceed to improve the machine.”