All good points. I 100% agree about Puig. He seems to have none of the skills required to communicate effectively, let alone right a sinking ship. I’m sure it’s my naïveté, but I’m still baffled at how a company as experienced and large as Honda can’t juggle that transition/consolidation. But you may be absolutely correct. Their progress this year has shown promise. And most importantly, they seem committed to taking every advantage of the concessions.
Unfortunately, can’t say the same for Yamaha yet. At least not so far. I’ve been a long time fan of Rins, and really thought he should have been moved to Yamaha when Suzuki bailed. I like Morbidelli (as a character), but his fall from grace has been severe - and surely Yamaha could have worked something out with his contract. They certainly needed a rider who could contribute to development, particularly given their loss of a satellite team.
The final Suzuki year, Rins seemed to have moved past his “flash of brilliance…crash…flash of brilliance…crash…crash…” phase of his career. His riding style seems to line up perfectly with the Yamaha strengths (or at least their FORMER strengths!). I haven’t read enough yet about whether Yama is taking advantage of these concessions. I certainly hope they do. It should fast track any team back into contention if done correctly.
I don’t mind FQ. He’s talented - and I’ve given him a bit of a pass on his demeanor during interviews. Only because I try to imagine what it would be like to have a team as qualified as Yamaha promise a trip to the moon, only to deliver a jalopy stuck in a ditch
. He’s probably kicking himself for not jumping ship when he had the chance.
