Honda technical chief warns against judging 2027 MotoGP bikes too early
Honda technical director says it’s ‘worthless’ to compare 850cc MotoGP machines at present.
HRC technical director Romano Albesiano says it’s far too early to draw any conclusions about the relative performance of next year’s 850cc MotoGP prototypes.
Honda was the second manufacturer, after KTM, to release images of an 850, which had its debut test at Sepang last December.
Takaaki Nakagami and Aleix Espargaro have since conducted further outings with the new Pirelli-shod bike.
"The project is following the planned schedule. The first motorcycle that was seen is a kind of test bike," Albesiano told Speedweek.com.
"We will introduce new components to this motorcycle step by step. We will probably reach the final version towards the end of the summer. But of course, the motorcycle will continue to evolve."
While no official lap times have been released, the first multi-manufacturer test with 2027 machines, Pirelli tyres and race riders will take place in private after next month’s Brno MotoGP round.
Manufacturers are sure to be timing their rivals at that test, but Albesiano emphasised: “One should not attach too much importance to the performance figures currently being seen.
"To talk about the performance of this motorcycle - our motorcycle and the motorcycles of the competition - is still very, very, very early... worthless, I would say.
"There's still so much to develop and so many things we need to understand, especially regarding the tyres.”
As such, the true 850cc hierarchy might not be become clear until the winter.
“Perhaps we'll start to understand something at the Sepang test. Not before.”
Aleix Espargaro said at the Catalan MotoGP round that the new 850cc machines will be "a lot more fun" to ride than the present 1000cc bikes.
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