The signs that MotoGP's Japanese powerhouses are changing for the better

The arrival of Ken Kawauchi as Honda's new technical director, replacing Takeo Yokoyama, offers a perfect analogy of the metamorphosis that MotoGP's two Japanese giants are undergoing. Kawauchi, signed by Honda after Suzuki's decision to quit the series at the end of last year, asked Marc Marquez at the recent Sepang pre-season test to start on a bike that presented a look almost from the past: no wings.

"Ken wanted to check some things and see them with his own eyes," Marquez explained.

Predictable as the answers were from analysing the two laps Marquez did, Kawauchi wanted to draw his own conclusions. This same method applied on a larger scale makes it possible to understand the drifts that have prompted Honda and Yamaha to break with the external blockade that, until now, severely limited their collaboration with third parties.

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The case of the Tokyo-based manufacturer is more extreme than that of Yamaha, since its racing department has been managed for many years by its Italian subsidiary based in Gerno di Lesmo.

The method is good or bad depending on the results it delivers. Honda's results have been disastrous since Marquez's injury in July 2020. While Yamaha's form has been much better, demonstrated by Fabio Quartararo's title win in 2021, it currently does not seem able to stand up to Ducati. Time will tell how it fares against a resurgent Aprilia, which in recent times has shown an unquestionable leap in quality.

The data, that technicians love, leaves no room for doubt. The contrast between the official teams of the two Italian companies during 2022, and their two Japanese counterparts, is brutal. In their meteoric drift towards the title, Ducati pair Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller contributed eight victories and 17 podiums to a haul of 454 points.

Honda's change in technical manager over the winter has brought about a new way of thinking

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Aprilia not only opened its win record thanks to Aleix Espargaro in Argentina, but also climbed the podium nine times and accumulated a total of 334 points. That's one more podium than Fabio Quartararo (eight) and Franco Morbidelli (none), and 44 points more than the 290 scored by Quartararo and his team-mate. Even further behind was Honda with only two podiums and 169 points, not forgetting the eight races that Marquez missed due to injury and which undoubtedly had a big impact on the statistics.

These numbers above are just a reflection of some mismatches that Yamaha and Honda are trying to correct by giving their bikes more and more laps. But there are those who believe that the root of the problem is the same, and that it lies in the way both approach the championship.

"I'm inclined to think that a decisive factor is the tendency they have shown to rely too much on the talent of one rider," Ducati sport director Paolo Ciabatti told Autosport. "When you have riders who are able to extract 110% from the prototype they ride, as is the case with Marc and Fabio, it camouflages the bike's shortcomings. And those riders are talented, but they're not Superman, so there are certain limitations they can't overcome."

The data, that technicians love, leave no room for doubt. If we take those of the official teams of the two Italian companies during 2022, and cross them with those of the two Japanese, the contrast is brutal

That impression Ciabatti has is shared by the majority in the paddock, especially given the huge gap between Marquez and Quartararo, the two leaders, and their colleagues. Identifying the problem already brings one a little closer to the solution. In this sense, the Turin-based executive believes he has identified certain signs that anticipate the beginning of a reaction from Honda and Yamaha.

In the Yamaha camp they admit more openly that indeed Ducati's approach, especially after the arrival of Gigi Dall'igna as general manager in 2014, revolutionised the historically established order in which the Asian teams dominated.

"Since Gigi Dall'Igna arrived, Ducati has implemented a particular style to develop the bike," concedes Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis, who last year teamed up with an Italian company to address the lack of muscle in its powertrain. "Ducati's speed of response, which was then followed by Aprilia, showed that the somewhat conservative mentality of the Japanese factories was not enough to fight with them. I think we've understood that now."

"This time last year was when we understood that we weren't going to be able to use the engine we wanted, because of a reliability issue. That led us to re-organise internally and externally, with the introduction of the group led by Luca Marmorini.

Yamaha's decision to work with renowned F1 engine chief Marmorini has yielded the top speed gains it has been looking for

Photo by: MotoGP

"What Marmotors does very well is to alert our engineers, and show them where they need to focus, what aspects they need to pay attention to and so on. Sometimes it puts pressure on them, sometimes it gives them advice. In short, it gives them another perspective."

Marmorini previously spearheaded Ferrari and Toyota's engine efforts in Formula 1, something that has seemingly worked to Yamaha's benefit with the increase in top speed the 2023 M1 has enjoyed through winter testing.

But this step speaks to the larger change in mindset both Yamaha and Honda is having to undertake to get back to the front in MotoGP, and how opening itself up to fresh ideas is something that is clearly going to benefit both in the long run.

Can the Japanese manufacturers propel themselves back into the fight this year by emulating the European approach?

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images