Puig: “We’re trying to help Jorge as much as possible”

The Gran Premio Michelin® de Aragon belonged to Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team). It was a dominant weekend for the Championship leader and reflecting on the result, Repsol Honda Team Manager Alberto Puig spoke about the positives and negatives of the weekend.

“The positive clearly is the victory, and in the way it was achieved,” said Puig. “It was a controlled win for Marc and Honda, to win a race after a weekend like we have had is quite impressive so we are very happy with this… It seems like Aragón is becoming a circuit similar to Austin or Sachsenring for Marc. He is stronger than the other riders and the combination of Márquez and the Honda works perfectly. Now we are going to Thailand where we will have the first opportunity to take the 2019 title.”

On the other side of the box, things are slightly more complicated. Despite a good start, a not-fully fit Jorge Lorenzo then suffered with tyre wear, eventually finishing P20. However, Puig reiterated that Honda will continue to continue helping the five-time World Champion as much as they can.

“The negative is that Jorge is not having an easy time with our bike, we are trying to help him as much as we can. We know he is strong but unfortunately it has not been going as expected in these races. We need to find a different solution for the following Grand Prix.”

Next stop: Thailand. A nasty highside put a premature end to Lorenzo’s weekend in Buriram last season, so the Spaniard will be facing a relatively fresh challenge at Round 15.