Do Honda “take advice” from more than just Marquez? Rins: “Let’s see…”
Marc Marquez has long been Honda’s star man and will continue to be, even if the team’s first MotoGP victory in two years came during his absence.
LCR Honda’s Rins won the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas and insists that the secret to his team’s future success lies in accepting feedback from more than just Marquez.
“Honda want to improve the bike,” Rins said. “They need to make a bike not only for one rider.
“I don’t want to say they work only for Marc, because they work for all four riders.
“But let’s see if they take our advice.
“Four riders are asking for the same, at least this is what I heard from Marc.
“We are struggling on acceleration.
“We need to work together. I want to do my best to win, Marc wants to do his best to win.”
Joan Mir, the 2020 world champion with Suzuki and now Marquez’s Repsol Honda teammate, has struggled so far and has missed three out of six races.
Takaaki Nakagami, Rins’ LCR teammate, failed to finish in Texas, while Marquez has missed all three grands prix of 2023 due to injury.
Rins, who delivered Honda’s first race win from a rider aside from Marquez since 2018, is not getting carried away.
“It is difficult to fight for the championship,” he said.
“To fight for the championship you need everything under control from the beginning.
“We can turn around the situation if we improve the bike, but it’s too late.
“I never stopped believing. When I see the bike doesn’t move now, I gave more aggressive and it came.
“But to do at 110% every lap? It is easy to make mistakes.”
The Spanish MotoGP this weekend is a homecoming for three of Honda’s four riders.
They will arrive on a high thanks to Rins’ efforts last time out.
“It gives power, not just to me, but to all of us,” he said. “It shows that we can do it.
“Before the start of the season we knew it would be a hard season.
“I was six years with the same team and I had a big change.
“This isn’t a difficult bike to ride. We just need to fix some weak points on the aerodynamic side, and the grip exiting from the corner.
“I need to understand the bike more. It isn’t like the others, in terms of potential or power.
“We are still working and improving.”
