MotoGP: Cecchinello hopeful of better Honda links

LCR Honda boss Lucio Cecchinello says he’s hopeful of an improved relationship with Honda in the coming season off the back of Cal Crutchlow’s double wins, after a successful meeting with the firm’s top bosses in Japan ahead of this week’s test in Malaysia.

The Italian flew straight from London, where he saw his rider presented with the prestigious Torren’s Trophy at the Royal Automobile Club, to Honda’s Tokyo headquarters – and came away cautiously optimistic with the fruits of his meeting.

“It was very interesting, because it was the first time I was in Honda head offices – normally I go to HRC. It was a good meeting. They’re working hard to improve the bike’s performances, and it’s clear that Honda are committing more and more to the satellite teams because they can see the other manufacturers doing the same.

“Last year they won the constructors world championship by only 13 points – and Cal scored 70 points for them! They won the rider’s title, yes, but the constructors title is also very important to them.”

However, while he’s expecting increased support from the firm, the size and breadth of their racing operations means that it’s unlikely that the satellite teams will see the speed with which they receive new parts dramatically increasing.

“HRC is working in many motorsports disciplines, and that’s why they can’t produce every single new evolution part to test for three or four riders. What we can see is that they’ll first test in the factory team and eventually let us test too.”