In its desperate attempt to get back on track in its RC213V prototype, Honda will take a step back from using state-of-the-art materials to return to aluminum swingarms. HRC was one of the first manufacturers to introduce carbon for the production of parts, including a swingarm made of that material since 2018, gradually leaving behind the use of aluminum for that component.
However, as confirmed by Motorsport.com , Marc Márquez will have a completely new part during the official MotoGP test, which takes place this Tuesday and Wednesday in Misano: an aluminum swingarm produced by the German manufacturer Kalex.
Kalex is present in the Moto2 world championships, as a supplier of complete chassis, and in WorldSBK, where it produces parts for some manufacturers. For the last 10 years Kalex bikes have consecutively won the title in the small class, and also BMW made a significant leap in SBK by introducing elements provided by this brand.
Honda, which has tested several girls and swingarms in recent years without apparent success, the last one was mounted on Márquez’s bike at the Italian Grand Prix (before the operation), and was tested by the rest of the brand’s riders , Pol Espargaró, Alex Márquez and Takaaki Nakagami, in the June tests held in Barcelona , without the bike having offered substantial progress.
This has led those responsible for HRC, in an attempt to try new things, to order this new part from an external supplier, Kalex.
It will not be the only novelty, nor will it be the most important, but it is shocking that a manufacturer of the size of Honda turns to a small manufacturer from Bobingen , in the German region of Bavaria, to produce a part of its prototype in the highest category. of motorcycling.
In addition to this swingarm, Márquez will have at his disposal a first motorcycle prototype designed for the 2023 season and, it is assumed, with a large part of completely new parts, also a new carbon chassis and swingarm manufactured by HRC, and electronics deeply modified within the current regulation.
At the aerodynamic level, an area where the Japanese manufacturer is showing the greatest deficit compared to its rivals, especially Ducati and Aprilia, HRC will also test several packages at the Misano test to try to make the bike more stable when driving, especially at time to stop it at the entrance to the curves. In fact, if any of these new elements work, Marc could wear them this season, when he reappears, since the Catalan has not yet done the aerodynamic update to which he is entitled per season and his bike, ridden by the tester Stefan Bradl, continues with the same aerodynamics that debuted in the first race in Qatar.
