After the near career-ending injury the 8-time world champion Marc Marquez in Jerez 2020, we fans have bore witness to a slow decline of a MotoGP manufacturer titan in Honda.
From a manufacturer that has achieved 25 premier-class constructors’ world championships, it goes without saying that the Japanese outfit has been facing a performance downturn in recent times.
Its factory team finished last in 2024 with 35 points, below its LCR sister team. The slew of bad performances symbolises a manufacturer that has struggled to come to grips with its machinery post-Marquez departure, who fled to Ducati in hopes of collecting yet another championship to his trophy cabinet.
However, after the first two races of the 2025 season, Honda is showing significant progress, seemingly breaking free from its spell of poor performances in the previous two seasons.
It was Johann Zarco who led the charge for Honda, with the Frenchman netting a P7 finish in Buriram and followed up with a promising weekend in Argentina, where he showed amazing pace all weekend to claim a P6 finish.
Coupled with a points finish for both factory riders in the same weekend, the Japanese manufacturer’s performance this past weekend gave many fans a trip down memory lane to the 2020 Portuguese Grand Prix, where its three Spanish riders all secured a points finish.
Zarco described Argentina as “almost a dream weekend,” signifying the fruits of labour for Honda. With KTM facing a slight performance downturn of their own amidst financial trouble, coupled with Aprilia missing their reigning world champion Jorge Martin, and Yamaha still making steps to fine-tune their package, Honda currently sits second in the constructor’s standings.
With the MotoGP paddock heading to Austin, Texas this weekend, historically Marc’s battleground and the scene of Honda’s latest win in the hands of Alex Rins on the LCR machine, we are still to see whether the pace of the Japanese giant is indeed real, or if it’s just a result of some good luck along the way.
Nevertheless, Honda did make the biggest step forward over the winter break, and the pace of Zarco and Mir could not be understated. As LCR team owner Lucio Cecchinello said, “There is no racing without Honda,” and HRC is on the cusp of tasting the champagne once more.
