Honda transfers technical director Kawauchi to its MotoGP take a look at staff

Honda has transferred its technical director Ken Kawauchi to its take a look at staff in MotoGP, Motorsport.com can reveal.

Kawauchi joined the Japanese marque’s racing division initially of the 2023 season from Suzuki, which had pulled the plug on its MotoGP venture a number of months earlier.

Regardless of the excessive expectations given the success of Suzuki, which received the riders’ world championship title in 2020 with Joan Mir, the Japanese technician has not managed to alter the course of Honda’s troubled MotoGP effort or shut the hole to pacesetter Ducati.

Over the past 12 months and a half, Kawauchi has acted as a hyperlink between Honda’s two workshops, the manufacturing facility squad and the satellite tv for pc LCR staff managed by Lucio Checchinello.

However Kawauchi has switched to working inside the take a look at staff, with the change already efficient from the previous couple of grands prix. The previous Suzuki man’s presence contained in the storage of Joan Mir and Luca Marini has almost certainly meant that nobody observed his change of function.

Nonetheless, Honda confirmed the transfer to Motorsport.com on Thursday, forward of its house race at Motegi.

“Ken Kawauchi is now targeted on working with the HRC take a look at staff in a technical function the place he brings the expertise and knowledge gained from his time in racing,” it mentioned.

“Because the take a look at staff grows in significance, and is ready to broaden to 3 riders by 2025, it’s essential to have somebody skilled in all points of improvement.”

Joan Mir, Repsol Honda Group

Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photographs

The technical director emptiness left by Kawauchi on the race squad has been crammed by Mikihiko Kawase, who has been promoted internally from Honda’s racing division HRC, which he joined in 2012.

Honda continues to be in the midst of a serious inside reshuffle. A 12 months in the past at Motegi, Shinichi Kokubu, who till then had been normal technical director (a stage above the Kawauchi function), left the MotoGP venture and was changed by Shin Sato.

Months later it was the flip of normal supervisor Tetsuhiro Kuwata to depart his submit, which is now held by Taichi Honda.

All these modifications are understood to be geared toward enhancing the efficiency of the RC213V, for which one of the best outcome this season was a ninth place for Johann Zarco (LCR) final Sunday in Indonesia.