{"id":349667,"date":"2025-12-15T14:07:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T14:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/349667\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T14:07:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T14:07:08","slug":"aleix-espargaro-on-hondas-motogp-goal-we-have-to-be-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/349667\/","title":{"rendered":"Aleix Espargaro on Honda\u2019s MotoGP goal: \u201cWe have to be A\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>HRC test rider Aleix Espargaro is confident that Honda\u2019s climb from MotoGP concession rank D to C is only the beginning and that &#8220;we have to be A&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Reaching A requires scoring at least 85 per cent of the maximum constructors\u2019 points over a one-year window, a benchmark currently achieved only by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/ducati-lenovo-team\" data-entity-type=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Ducati<\/a>, which has won the constructors\u2019 championship for the past six consecutive seasons.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/teams\/repsol-honda-team\" data-entity-type=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Honda <\/a>is the first manufacturer to move up the concessions ladder since the A-B-C-D system was introduced at the start of 2024, having exceeded the 35 per cent threshold needed to join KTM and Aprilia in band C.<\/p>\n<p>Yamaha is now the only manufacturer remaining in category D, retaining full concessions including ongoing engine development and private testing with race riders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s a matter of where we have to be: We have to be A, so it&#8217;s the logical first step we have to do,\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/1028\/aleix-espargaro\" data-entity-type=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> Espargaro<\/a> said of Honda\u2019s promotion from D to C.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>The decisive moment came in the closing laps of the Valencia season finale, when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crash.net\/motogp\/racer\/973240\/luca-marini\" data-entity-type=\"external\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Luca Marini <\/a>secured the seventh place required to push Honda over the threshold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonda said, and they repeated, \u2018we had to put one bike in P7\u2019, we didn&#8217;t hide it,\u201d Espargaro said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI&#8217;m very happy that it was Luca who made it, because I think he&#8217;s been strong this season. He worked very hard after the injury, and his commitment was amazing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJoan [Mir] did a couple of podiums. Johann [Zarco] won a race &#8211; it&#8217;s not a victory, but I think it&#8217;s a good present for Luca.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/3000_gng_1285719_hires.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Luca Marini, 2025 Valencia MotoGP\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.4\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Luca Marini, 2025 Valencia MotoGP<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>Zarco ultimately finished as Honda\u2019s top rider in the world championship, holding off Marini by six points for twelfth overall.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe good thing is that [in the closing stages of the season] we had at least one bike near the top every weekend. It could be Joan, Luca, or Zarco sometimes. So it means the bike is working well,\u201d Espargaro said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe level is really, really high and really equal for everybody. Sometimes it&#8217;s one, sometimes it&#8217;s the other. And Joan proved also in Portimao that the bike is fast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo obviously we are in a process. KTM is also making progress. Aprilia is flying. So the good thing is that everybody is getting close to Ducati.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Reflecting on Honda\u2019s intensive development push, Espargaro highlighted the scale of the test programme.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt&#8217;s amazing how much we have worked,\u201d the former Aprilia MotoGP race winner said of the final stages of the campaign. \u201cI&#8217;ve been testing one million days in Malaysia, then back in Europe, then before going to Valencia [for the wild-card], to Aragon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just goes to show the commitment of Honda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/3000_gng_1284271_hires.jpg\"   type=\"image\/jpeg\" alt=\"Aleix Espargaro, 2025 Valencia MotoGP\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.5\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Aleix Espargaro, 2025 Valencia MotoGP<\/p>\n<p>Asked whether Ducati\u2019s lack of concessions has limited its development options, Espargaro reflected on how Honda had evolved the RCV during the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom my experience, the tons of material and hundreds of laps that I did in testing, how much we changed the bike during these last six months has been amazing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p> Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo if I imagine the situation without the testing\u2026 And don&#8217;t get me wrong, it&#8217;s not because of me, but because we had the possibility to test many, many things.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonda brought many things to Joan and Luca. For example, we had three engine updates during the season, and the engine we have now is super-fast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDucati has no option to change the engine. If Joan and Luca were fighting today with the engine from the beginning of the season\u2026 not even top ten.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Honda will now join Ducati, KTM and Aprilia in the MotoGP engine freeze from the opening round of 2026. The new 850cc era then begins in 2027.<\/p>\n<p>Subscribe to our MotoGP Newsletter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HRC test rider Aleix Espargaro is confident that Honda\u2019s climb from MotoGP concession rank D to C is&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349668,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[163184,64,63,9400,9398,15612,9399,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-349667","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motosport","8":"tag-aleix-espargaro","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-honda-hrc","12":"tag-joan-mir","13":"tag-johann-zarco","14":"tag-luca-marini","15":"tag-motor","16":"tag-motor-sports","17":"tag-motosport","18":"tag-motosports","19":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=349667"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/349667\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=349667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=349667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=349667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}