22/11/2025

Honda “didn’t have much to test” in Valencia but development headed in right direction

Honda has revealed that it “didn’t have much to test” in Valencia this week, but every new MotoGP part it brought worked as intended.

Although the test team led by Aleix Espargaro has been busy evaluating the 2026-spec RC213V, including in a recent private test at Sepang, the Japanese manufacturer did not have an all-new bike available at Valencia on Tuesday.

Instead, Honda essentially ran the same bike that raced at the Valencia Grand Prix last weekend, but with several new solutions and components designed for the final year of the current rules era.

Despite the modest changes, team manager Alberto Puig described the test as productive, stating that HRC engineers are on the right development path.

“The truth is it was a productive day, a bit short because of the damp track in the morning, but positive,” Puig told Spanish broadcaster DAZN.

“We didn’t have much to test — two or three things, not much — but everything we fitted seems to work. In principle, the direction is good and we’re happy.”

Diogo Moreira, Team LCR Honda

Photo by: Hazrin Yeob Men Shah / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Puig did not specify what updates Joan Mir, Luca Marini and LCR rider Johann Zarco ran in Valencia, but feels Honda has a solid reference point heading into the winter break.

“The goal was to try to gain grip, and we tested quite a few different things on the chassis,” he explained.

“I’m not going into details, but I’ll say again that the direction is good, and it gives you a certain reference heading into the winter.

“Knowing that what you test works, and being able to follow a line of development, makes it easier for whatever comes next to follow the same path toward what’s good, which is nothing other than having a bike capable of fighting with the top manufacturers.”

Honda has lost its Group D concessions after completing a remarkable turnaround from its 2024 nadir, as it won a rain-hit French GP and scored podiums in dry-weather races at Silverstone, Motegi and Sepang.

Puig expressed his delight that Honda’s recovery efforts are paying off, even if that comes at the loss of some private testing days, extra tyre allocation and wildcards.

“That’s why it’s so important that what we tested in Valencia worked,” he said. “If you climb up the concessions ranking, logically you get fewer benefits, but we’re happy about that because it means we’ve made progress.

“It would have been much worse if nothing we tested had worked.”

Honda’s goals for 2026

For 2026, Honda is aiming for a more consistent showing across the season, with Puig saying he would like to see the marque finish inside the top five every weekend.

“We’ve improved, that’s obvious; the bike has gained power. Now we need to try to find consistency in the results,” he said.

“Thinking about a top five would be a good objective. We need to be consistent without the riders having to push at the limit every lap, because that leads to crashes and problems in qualifying.

“If we can get a bike that can be regularly among the top five or six in qualifying and in the race, that would be another very important step for next year.»

Moreira’s first MotoGP outing

Puig was one of the biggest supporters of Honda’s 2026 signing Diogo Moreira and convinced the management to drop LCR’s sponsorship deal with Idemitsu — dependent on running Asian riders — to hire the Brazilian.

Asked to assess the performance of the newly-crowned Moto2 champion in Valencia, Puig said: “The first day on a MotoGP bike is very complicated — it can be hell. The bike is very powerful; we already warned him to take it easy, as he’ll also have to do in next year’s Sepang test.

“A category change is not easy. But any rider who arrives as world champion hasn’t won that by chance. He’s young, ambitious, and I’m sure that, with time, he’ll move upwards.”