This year, Honda has significantly developed its Test Team, recruiting two out of three retired drivers following the Barcelona Formula 1 race to assist in the development of their project. Joan Mir, who has taken on this responsibility alongside his role as a factory rider in 2024, believes these efforts are essential, even though they have been exhausting.
Honda’s Test Team Expansion in 2024
Since the end of the 2024 season, Takaaki Nakagami and Aleix Espargaro have joined Honda’s HRC Test Team. These two important signings are crucial for the Japanese manufacturer, as they work tirelessly to get the team back on track. In order to achieve this, they must leverage Honda’s new concession system to their advantage.
As a D-factory team, similar to Yamaha, Honda has not fully utilized the advantages of the redesigned system introduced at the beginning of the 2024 season, according to Joan Mir. The Spanish rider even believes that these concessions have not impacted Honda’s progress across the 20 races that make up the 2024 campaign.
“It’s a good question. This year, [we] probably would be in the same position as we are now [without these concessions],” Joan Mir reflected in Barcelona when asked to assess Honda’s season. “They help us in the next seasons. But in the short term, they don’t give us any advantage. You can see that in the results. We need to find ways to produce parts that make us faster. Right now, we can’t get them.”
Challenges and Role Allocation in 2024
However, it’s important to note that Honda’s situation has evolved significantly between the early and final stages of the 2024 season. Mir’s impression that things weren’t progressing fast enough is partly due to what he believes is poor allocation of roles within the team.
Honda’s system allows Yamaha and Honda to run all their riders in private tests. However, Joan Mir, who is a regular rider, feels somewhat frustrated by the extended test sessions for Honda. He believes that his role as a factory rider shouldn’t require him to complete so many test laps between Grand Prix races.
“You know, the fact that factory riders can test more—I don’t think that’s an advantage,” he continued. “If the bike is better, I’ll be faster. That’s why we do the tests. But we go and test something, spend a day on it, without mental rest. And so, we have races, tests, races, tests, and maybe it gets worse. We’ve strengthened the test team, and we need to use it to our benefit to have a solid base of what we can test at GP races. Then, we can see if it’s better.”
Future Plans and Test Team Improvement
Looking forward to 2025, Joan Mir is hopeful for more downtime between race weekends, as Takaaki Nakagami and Aleix Espargaro will be more focused on testing duties for Honda. “We need to rearrange things a bit for next year. It’s already done. The test team isn’t enough. We only have one tester. Honestly, we can improve the infrastructure of the test team a lot. We’ve done that, and I think this will help a lot next year,” Mir concluded.
With Nakagami and Espargaro now focusing on the crucial test work, Honda aims to optimize its testing program to help accelerate bike development and give its riders the competitive edge they need in future MotoGP seasons.
