Honda needs a “revolution” to improve “not super competitive” 2026 MotoGP bike

Joan Mir admits Honda doesn’t have a “super competitive” bike after MotoGP pre-season testing and is looking for a “revolution” to fix its main weakness of a lack of grip.

After a strong 2025 campaign in which it developed a more competitive package, big things are expected of Honda this season.

However, it looks like it will start the 2026 season somewhat on the back foot after a tricky testing phase.

Joan Mir was its leading light in 10th on the combined timesheets at the Buriram test, though he complained that the RC213V is struggling for grip.

While he believes this is not being helped by the stiffer rear tyre carcass used at the Buriram track, he also noted that the issue was present at the Sepang test.

“Honestly, in this track, for some reason we found more difficulties than in Sepang, especially for myself,” he said.

“I could not put the bike in the same place in terms of potential, in general.

“So, I’m not super happy honestly, because here it’s important, you see more or less who the guys are to beat in the next weekend.

“And, in reality, we struggled a bit in terms of grip. Probably, this different carcass is not our big friend at the moment and that meant we had to change the bike a little bit.

“It’s not super clear for us at the moment the direction to take because we don’t have a super competitive package at the moment.

“So, this is how I feel. Probably during this week the guys will find something and that will help, but the reality is this one.”

He added: “In terms of potential, I expected more. The grip is something that… in Sepang I think I said we have to improve the grip, it’s our weakness.

“At the moment, I think Ducati and Aprilia are in a different level at the moment.

“This is how I see now here in this track. In Sepang it was similar, but I think there we had a chance. But here, no.”

With Honda lifting itself out of the bottom of the concession rankings last season, it has not been able to develop a new engine for 2026.

As such, Mir notes the current package is an “evolution”, but that a “revolution” is needed to improve the Honda’s grip.

“We are a bit in the process,” he explained.

“It’s true that now we tried different things, but not a different concept.

“The concept is the same. There is some evolution and not a revolution, and in terms of grip we need a revolution.

“We are in a similar position as last year, because the others have improved.

“We’ve improved, but the others are probably the same or more. Hopefully, with the other carcass, our bike’s behaviour improves and we can be more competitive.”