The Japanese manufacturer has been undertaking a top-to-bottom revamp of its MotoGP operations following a continuous decline in results over the last few years and the loss of star rider Marc Marquez to Gresini Ducati.
While there was significant optimism within the Honda camp over the winter as it went about changing its philosophy and culture, the opening two rounds of the year in Qatar and Portugal last month highlighted the scale of the challenge it still faces to close the gap to the top.
Not only did the RC213V struggle over a single lap, with all four riders failing to break into Q2, but the bike wasn’t much better in race trim, with 12th place the best Honda could manage across Losail and Portimao.
Honda team manager Alberto Puig admitted that the Japanese marque is not where it would like to be in the pecking order, but vowed to put in all efforts in order to complete its recovery to the front of the pack.
“We are in a process of development,” said Puig. “We believe we are making progress but, at the same time, we believe the other guys have also made some progress.
“We didn't catch up as much as we expected, for now, but the only thing we know is that we are on a mission [and] our intention is clear.
“Okay, it's not really easy but we are putting in a lot of resources [and] we are having a lot of manpower that is adding to the project.
Source: Autosport