Through the victory of Alex Rins, Honda makes its comeback in the MotoGP season 2023. They had almost disappeared into oblivion. Anyone who believed that the first Honda victory in 2023 would be claimed by Mark Marquez or Joan Mir would be disappointed today. The two Repsol Honda riders are still waiting for their first victory of the season.
Today, Honda’s last remaining customer team was able to cheer. The team of Lucio Cecchinello managed the sensation in Austin. Already on Saturday, Alex Rins was able to take a respectable second place in the Sprint race with his last year’s Honda. In Sunday’s race, the LCR Honda rider was able to keep up with World Champion Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia. When the latter crashed on lap eight, Rins was suddenly in the lead. With his comeback at the Circuit of The Americas, Alex Rins was able to break the Ducati dominance in MotoGP and take the first victory for Honda in a long time.
A brief review
Last year, Honda was unable to claim a victory in MotoGP and finished last in the Constructors’ World Championship. This dry spell has now been surprisingly interrupted. Because let’s all be honest, hardly anyone would have bet a penny on a victory for Honda. Especially since Marc Marquez, Honda’s strongest rider, was missing.
To the end of the race
MotoGP riders crashed, so in the end all riders who reached the checkered flag were in the points. This is not to diminish the performance of Alex Rins. The LCR Honda rider showed very good form throughout the weekend. He managed to get everything out of last year’s Honda and thus deservedly took his second win in Austin and his first victory for LCR Honda.
Is this now the turnaround for Honda?
It would be very good for the excitement in MotoGP if that were the case. The dominance of the Ducati riders is overwhelming and it would be good if this dominance was broken. I think a lot of things just came together today that favored Alex Rins’ victory. First of all, that Rins feels very comfortable on this track. In addition, there were numerous crashes. Maybe this victory is just a product of chance. But maybe it also means a step towards a turnaround. We will see in the coming races and can be curious.
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