Something is Fundamentally Wrong With Japanese Companies

MotoGP since its inception has been dominated by Japanese brands. Since 1975, almost every MotoGP race has been won by a Japanese brand.

Even this statistic has not made Japanese brands from taking some criticism from some of the world’s best riders, as they think that Japanese brands have everything, but innovation.

According to Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez, the Japanese brands need to think out of the box and replicate the innovation being carried out by European brands such as Ducati and Aprilia to stay relevant on the track. And they are true to their senses as recently Japanese brands have started to struggle on the track. Marc Marquez’s absence due to the injury also cost Honda quite a bit on the tracks, meanwhile, Suzuki has already made up their mind to quit MotoGP. Despite being champions on the track, the current situation of the Japanese brands does not look promising when compared to their European competitors on the track.

Addressing the issue, Marc Marquez said, “When I say the team it is not people, it is the concept of the team. We are seeing that European teams are working in a different way. We are seeing that Honda are working a lot, more than ever, and the budget is there – you can’t say that they aren’t working. So when I say that we need to change the team, it’s the concept, the coordination, to try and find the way.”

With its extensive usage of Michele Pirro as a tester, wildcard racer, injury replacement, and on-track spotter, Ducati has been leading the charge in this area. It has also undoubtedly benefited from the location of Ducati’s headquarters in Bologna to the majority of MotoGP races held in Europe.

Even though all three (including Suzuki) were virtually forced to establish their European test teams in recent years, the Japanese manufacturers have been slow to follow suit.

However, Marquez believes Honda needs to become more cohesive internally since those teams are more crucial than ever in the era of limited testing and because a new front Michelin tyre is expected to shake up the grid in 2024.