Honda have admitted they were not ambitious enough in their performance targets for 2007. The world championship-winning manufacturer have struggled since MotoGP's switch from 990cc to 800cc bikes, prompting Honda HRC chief Satoru Horiike to admit they are lacking power.
"We must recognise that we made a mistake when we set out targets - our bike needs a more powerful engine," he told Motosprint magazine.
"The level we set ourselves for the first year of 800cc was not right. We thought that the 800cc bikes would take longer to be faster than the 990s, but they did it straight away.
"Our bike is not at the level it should be at this point in the season. Our top speed is improving, but it is not enough."
Defending champion Nicky Hayden has suffered a miserable start to the season on the Repsol Honda, and team-mate Dani Pedrosa is also struggling.
Ducati have positioned themselves as the dominant force so far thanks to enormous straight-line speed, while Yamaha kingpin Valentino Rossi also finds himself in title contention.
EuroSport
Subject: Honda: "We got it wrong" 
Sat May 19, 2007 10:09 pm
