MotoGP: Honda Debuts Its Much Awaited Kalex Chassis at Jerez Test

The Honda Team manager Alberto Puig and rider Joan Mir gave the Kalex-built Honda MotoGP chassis a cautiously encouraging reception during its public premiere. It has long been speculated that Kalex has been working on a new generation of the RC213V to increase the options for the Japanese company in its quest to turn its fortunes, marking a significant shift of philosophy for Honda, which has typically preferred to retain the design of its motorcycles in-house. Mir's time with the bike was cut short, though. The much-anticipated chassis from the German manufacturer has been hailed as a potential solution for Honda's troubles since it has been the dominating force in Moto2, MotoGP's key feeder series. There's a lot going wrong for the Japanese team right now, particularly on Mir's side of the garage. The 2020 world champion has already crashed five times at Jerez between the Spanish Grand Prix weekend and the Monday post-race test, matching his total for his championship season. 

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MotoGP: Honda at Jerez Test

Mir, though, was only able to provide little input during Honda's first set-up work with the new frame on Monday, so it remains to be seen whether it will make a significant difference for him. Due to his injury, Marc Marquez will miss the Jerez test, where he could have gotten a feel for the bike's new chassis. Not everything went as planned for Mir, however, Bradl had crashed the bike earlier in the day during the Jerez Test, reducing the amount of time he could spend with the Kalex chassis even before his run was cut short.

The good news is that even Mir's limited-mileage input shows the chassis could provide benefits in the precise way that it appears Honda most needs them right now. Mir's former Suzuki teammate Alex Rins seemed slightly unamused that he too wasn't afforded the same option to test the new frame after the arrival of the new machine and its aborted spin out in the hands of Mir.

After a busy day of trying out five different aero packages, the LCR Honda racer who won the factory's lone race of the season so far at the Circuit of the Americas admitted that he and Mir had expected not to be able to test it in the absence of the injured Marquez.

MotoGP: The Jerez Test Result 

Riders and teams returned to Jerez for a day of official testing after Sunday's Spanish MotoGP. Marco Bezzecchi set the fastest lap time on a hectic day of racing at Jerez, when the weather was almost perfect, the track was full of rubber, and the asphalt temperature was comfortable but not hot.  Luca Marini, Bezzecchi's teammate on the Mooney VR46 Ducati, was second fastest, while Fabio Quartararo, taking advantage of the test's improved traction, came in third.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, riding for the Gresini Ducati team, finished in fourth place, less than four tenths behind Bezzecchi, with nothing to improve upon other than his bike's settings and his riding position, exactly like the two Mooney VR46 riders.

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Fifth-placed Maverick Viales was the best of the Aprilia riders, faster than Sunday's victor, factory Ducati's Pecco Bagnaia. The fastest rider on a KTM was Brad Binder, who finished eighth, while the fastest rider on a Honda was Joan Mir, who finished sixteenth.

All four Honda test riders had a terrible day and crashed. While attempting to brake for Turn 6, Joan Mir crashed, and later in the day, both LCR Honda riders, Alex Rins, and Takaaki Nakagami, also went down. Similarly, HRC test rider Stefan Bradl fell off Honda's new Kalex-built chassis and crashed. Because the frame wasn't broken, Joan Mir could use it, too.