Repsol Honda's Marc Marquez (Photo: HRC)

We heard that Casey himself suggested Marquez as his replacement.

Well, I don’t know if he actually said that or not, but Marc has the same kind of energy as Casey and we have great hopes for him. He has now ridden in four days of tests, one after Valencia and three after Sepang. The weather was poor on all those days and there wasn’t much time at all for him to show us how he can ride, but nevertheless, at Sepang he was putting in 2’01” laps very consistently. That time is pretty much the same as Casey and Dani, but even so Marc was constantly issuing a stream of comments such as “I need to hold the advantage at that corner so as to avoid falling” - comments he would carefully write down afterwards so as to remember them. I wasn’t there at the Malaysia test, but I heard about that from our staff and was very surprised. I’ve never met a rider who acts like that before. Mid way through the 2011 season, I said to Marc “If you move up to MotoGP next year, I’ll have a factory bi ke ready for you.” He wanted to take the Moto2 championship first, and I told him to go for it. The decision to offer Marc a bike had nothing to do with any sponsor - I myself decided we needed Marc on a Honda, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what he can do. When we first gave him an RC213V at Valencia, he got straight on and told us he already understood how to use the carbon brakes. In Malaysia, with the bike laid over he was opening the throttle exactly right. A very intelligent rider, always thinking about how to make his bike go faster, and there’s definitely something about him that is sure to attract a big fan following. Next year I see him seriously competing with Dani and Jorge, although it won’t be easy to grab a victory away from those two. Nonetheless, I reckon we could see a win by Marc by mid season.

Dani Pedrosa finished this season with seven wins, the most of any rider. What do you think? Is next season the one where he wins the riders’ title?

I think if he doesn’t take the title next year, he probably never will, but if he does then it’s quite possible he’ll go on to be champion several times. Dani used to be known for always winning two races each season, but in 2011, he took four, and then last season he managed seven wins. In the first half of last season, he was having a hard time with the bike as we struggled to fix the balance after the new weight rules, and then the tire change. But once we introduced the new bike, he just kept getting better and better. At the Czech GP he fought a tremendous battle with Jorge, overtaking then being overtaken, until finally Dani crossed the line ahead. I don’t think he has had a race like that since his days in 125cc, so I think that marked a new stage for him. He turned in a superb performance at the final GP in Valencia too, under conditions so bad that the only dry part of the track was on the line itself. He astonished everyone with the sp eeds he was getting there - it really sometimes looked as if the other riders were just standing still. Our new machine has much improved braking and cornering, and getting his hands on such a good bike seems to have filled Dani with fresh confidence. To me, Dani appears to have an extra sense other riders don’t - he can spot the smallest things, things that others never feel. He will quickly become aware of subtle changes, for example when the track surface starts to lose grip. The minus side to this is that it can make his riding over cautious, but this year he overcame that tendency and got it just right. He’s beaten his big rival one on one, ridden through the rain to win at Malaysia, managed to keep his speed high even in wet conditions, which were previously his weak point. There’s no question about it - Dani has progressed to another level and is now a very strong competitor. I’m so confident that he will take the title next year, I can’t really i magine not seeing him on that podium.

2013 will be Stefan Bradl’s second season in MotoGP and Alvaro Bautista’s second since he switched to Honda. What are your impressions of these two riders?

Stefan missed so many chances, including in the final race, for a podium place that I sometimes wondered what he was doing, but overall he has improved just as I was expecting him to. He is an intelligent, educated rider, who uses his brain. Stefan is the only German rider we have in MotoGP. I’d say he is an important rider, not just for Honda, but for MotoGP in general and I hope he keeps on aiming for the top. Next year, Marquez, his old rival in Moto2, will be joining us in MotoGP and I think this will also help Stefan to develop his skills. Alvaro’s results on the other hand, were a bit of a disappointment, to tell the truth. If we include his time with Suzuki, he has much more experience in MotoGP than Stefan, so I thought we would be seeing better results. He was on the podium twice this year, but I want to see him up there much more often next year. He has to get rid of his habit of riding like he’s still in 250cc.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Could you finish by summing up your thoughts on 2012, and tell us your goals for next season?

In general, over the course of this year our bikes got better and our riders got stronger. We had a big setback when the weight rules and tire specs changed right at the start of the season - as I told you earlier, I don’t think that was fair, and I hope it’s never repeated. With such a handicap, taking our already finished bike, rebuilding it completely and then going on to win - I have no complaints about our performance. It’s a pity we didn’t get the riders title, but I feel we achieved something as constructors. Goals for 2013? Of course I’m aiming at the triple title. But in racing, nothing is sure, you never know what will happen. If you lose, you just have to try harder to win, and all we can do is try our very best to make a winning bike. 2013 testing starts from February in Malaysia, and we can’t afford to take any time off before then. Our goal next year is to win all three titles, and forget the disappointment of not getti ng the triple this year. Next year we’ll again be doing our best to live up to the expectations of our fans, and I’d like to say how grateful I am for everyone’s support this season.