The principle that when things go wrong they can always go worse suits Honda like a glove. It has hit rock bottom in the last two weeks. Neither Marc Marquez, Alex Rins nor Joan Mir, their three most competitive riders, took part in the last two stops of the calendar, at Sachsenring and Assen, as they were injured.
The most glaring case is that of Marquez, the mainstay of the whole set-up, who decided not to ride in Germany on Sunday after tallying five crashes in two and a half days, breaking several bones. Despite travelling to the Dutch GP and taking to the track on both Friday and Saturday, the Spaniard also sat out the long race after aggravating a cracked rib he sustained seven days earlier.
Honda, the manufacturer with the most muscle in the championship, is at the bottom of the constructors' table and there is no sign of that decline slowing. Marquez, meanwhile, went into this season with the sole focus on getting back to winning ways after enduring the toughest period of his life due to his management of an arm injury sustained in July 2020. Now fully recovered after undergoing four operations, he made it clear to Honda bosses after the last intervention a year ago of his intention to fulfil his contract, which expires in 2024, as long as he had the necessary tools to fight for victories.
"If not, I'll make a living," he told them, according to the documentary All In, which he produced and was released just before the season started.
Three months have passed, but Marquez still hasn't seen the chequered flag in a Sunday race. His mood has an air of desperation, which only lends weight to the arguments of those who believe his only chance of fulfilling his goals is a split with his current team before his contract expires. That's especially because while Honda appears to know how to turn this situation around, it is unwilling to implement the necessary changes to make an effective recovery.
Source: Autosport