Honda WorldSBK “not in a place we thought we were going to be” - Jose Escamez

Honda has been back in WorldSBK as a full factory team since 2020, meaning we are now in year five of its project in the production derivative class, but it has yet to win a race with its CBR1000RR-R.

Even a minor update to the original 2020 CBR1000RR-R, including an updated aerodynamic package and the inclusion of a new two-motor throttle-by-wire system, has not been enough to propel Honda towards the front of WorldSBK.

The cause of HRC’s underperformance is difficult to pinpoint, but that’s the job of Jose Escamez, who was brought into the Honda WorldSBK programme this year after previously working in MotoGP.

“It's true that we're not in a place or position we thought we were going to be,” Escamez told WorldSBK.com. “With this new model we had a lot of expectations.

“It's true that it has been harder than expected and actually, sometimes, it can be frustrating to see that we're not performing at the level we believe we can be.”

Escamez said that the most important thing for the HRC team is to continue working as they are doing, and accept the reality of where they currently are.

“We need to accept it, keep working and the most important thing is that the team is doing the maximum and with good will,” he said. “Even the riders, where in general, they always want the best and emotions can be like a rollercoaster.

“They're doing their best every time they go to the track and I take that as a positive.”

Honda’s problems are nothing new, even if the Fireblade’s specification is slightly updated for 2024.

“The biggest challenge is that we're still struggling with something from the past: stopping the bike, turning it and improving drive grip,” Escamez explained. “These are the key points that we need to improve but this is something we're dragging from previous years.

“There have been some improvements but we can't see it reflected due to other manufacturers making a big step.”

There have been positive signs more recently, though, with Iker Lecuona figuring in the top 10 at Misano.

“At Misano with Iker [Lecuona], we saw some potential after testing a lot,” Escamez said. “We got some new ideas that we thought could be worthy and then at Most— not at Donington, definitely, as we knew that it wasn't a track that plays to our bike — we saw some improvements and we made steps. We need to prove that it wasn't a coincidence and that it was just a step forward.

“At Portimao, the gap is closer but it's always been like that; it's not something we can take seriously so we'll need to confirm it once again in the coming races.”

Although development is continuing with the WorldSBK project, Escamez hinted that it is not among the biggest priorities in HRC, which now also looks after Honda’s car racing activities.

“We continue to develop the bike to the highest level but it's been hard. We know that there are some priorities within the company and it's not easy to make the right steps quicker.”

An upcoming test at Aragon is expected to see some new parts for Honda.

“We don't know yet whether they'll be positive or not,” Escamez admitted. “At the Aragon test, we expect to try some new items that can perhaps help us in the last part of the season, which would also be good for 2025.

“We have superconcessions, but in the end, we didn't homologate any new parts because we are not capable to do a development quicker than what we are [doing]. It's a pity but we can use these tests to try different parts which, otherwise, we couldn't test.”

The new surface at Aragon presents problems, though, in terms of generalisation of the results obtained at the test.

“I don't think this test can be comparative to previous years as the track has been resurfaced,” Escamez explained. “With a different asphalt, we don't know how grippy it will be but that [low grip surfaces] is our weakness. So far, it should be realistic or give us an idea of how the last part of the season will be and moving forward to 2025.”

In general, the work done in 2024 leads Escamez to predict a better 2025 for HRC in WorldSBK.

“I have no doubt about it,” he said. “We are working already on our 2025 strategy and I think, so far, we’re close to getting it all defined. I personally think that it will be so much better because the company has been putting such a huge effort to turn to the places where we want to be.

“There’s not going to be any excuses. We are quite honest with ourselves and we know that it’s going to be really challenging, even more than in the past probably because the situation we are facing right now, it could be seen as worse than before.

“The season is not over yet and we’re not going to give up easily. I’m quite sure about this because the company has made some movements on the strategy for next year which I think will be in the right direction.

“I see the effort they are putting; nobody is happy with these results and how the season is going so far. I talk by facts and that the reactions the whole company is taking.

“It’s never easy to make a prediction about how it’s going to be in 12 months because when I started this season, I thought we are going to be much better than right now.

“I have a positive way of thinking and I can see that we are going to be much, much better and at least not in the situation we are facing so far. There are still a lot of things to do and the season isn’t over.

“We’re not going to stop until we are fighting for wins or the Championship, which is our only target.”