News that Aprilia MotoGP technical boss Romano Albesiano is leaving to join the intense rebuilding effort at rival Honda came as a significant shock to the MotoGP paddock when it was revealed at the Japanese Grand Prix - but will he be the final part of the puzzle that returns Honda to competitiveness at long last?
On paper, at least, there’s evidence to suggest that the arrival of the veteran Italian engineer will finally help Honda make big steps forward.
He is, after all, the man who turned Aprilia’s RS-GP from what was essentially a modified superbike under the series’ CRT rules into a fully-fledged race-winning (and even long-shot title-contending) prototype machine in only a few seasons.
Albesiano started out from a low bar when he took over Aprilia’s project from current Ducati technical mastermind Gigi Dall’Igna and was initially managing not just the MotoGP effort but the superbike racing programme too. Things didn’t look great at the start as Aleix Espargaro and a whole succession of team-mates struggled to make the bike work.
However, with time, experience and in particular a better understanding of the way in which aerodynamics was going to alter MotoGP, that steadily changed - and took a significant step forward when the arrival of Massimo Rivola as team principal meant that Albesiano was able to concentrate more on engineering and less on team management.
That’s something that won’t be an issue at Honda, either, as Albesiano slots into a well-established team structure that means he should be able to fully concentrate on the job at hand - as long as he’s allowed to by Honda’s existing management, at least.
The biggest challenge he undoubtedly faces in returning the RC213V to competitiveness isn’t an engineering one, because if Albesiano’s time at Aprilia has shown us anything it’s that he knows how to build a fast bike.
Rather, it’ll be whether a European project boss (Honda’s first ever in grand prix racing) will be given the full muscle he needs to make significant changes.
Simply put, if Honda wants him to deliver results then it needs to give him the leeway to make the sort of changes necessary.
That won’t be an easy thing to convince many inside the company hierarchy of, if the past is anything to go by, because Honda has probably been (more than anyone else) the factory least happy about the trends of ride height devices and aerodynamics.
Albesiano’s first battle, therefore, is going to be convincing his new bosses that embracing those technologies properly is the only way forward. Should he be able to do that (and his recent results should help make his case), then it’s halfway towards getting Honda back to the sharp end.
And, if that battle is won, the ceiling for the Honda/Albesiano combination has to be much higher than the pairing of Aprilia and Albesiano for one key reason: budget.
Aerodynamics work and the associated computer and windtunnel time needed to make it work isn’t cheap, and Aprilia has always been MotoGP’s most financially hamstrung factory in recent times.
Money isn’t an issue at Honda, regardless of the imminent departure of Repsol as title sponsor.
And if Albesiano can convince the firm to pump the resources needed into what he’s already established at Aprilia was the right direction, then it shouldn’t take too long for us to start seeing the fruits of his efforts.
