The development concessions put Honda and Yamaha in a privileged position to regain competitiveness they have lost in recent years in MotoGP. However, it’s all a process that takes time, and the preseason tests didn’t show a radically better situation than in 2023.
Ricard Jové, former rider, argued to PecinoGP that the favorite will be Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati): ‘You can’t run a championship from the third or fourth row, but Pecco for me is the clear favorite; you start to count all the Ducatis. We’ll see what happens with Aprilia and KTM, because at the moment the Hondas are nowhere to be seen’.
Regarding the Japanese manufacturer, the TV commentator also remarked: ‘Until the tests at Jerez and Misano arrive, we won’t see if Yamaha and Honda make the leap they need, at the beginning, I don’t think so’.