Honda and Kalex founder end MotoGP chassis collaboration

Kalex co-founder Alex Baumgartel has parted ways with Honda after just six months, Autosport can reveal.

It was during the first pre-season test of the year at Sepang in February that the German technical was seen for the first time in HRC uniform. Honda subsequently revealed that Baumgartel had joined as a contracted technical consultant to strengthen the RC213V chassis. 

However, Autosport has learned that the relationship between both parties has been poor for some grands prix already due to a lack of understanding between their different ways of working. 

It remains to be seen if this episode could also mark a complete end to Kalex’s partnership with Honda which has seen the chassis maker build various parts for the Japanese marque in the last few years.

It was in 2022 when Honda first turned to the engineering company, which supplies chassis to the majority of the Moto2 grid, for a new aluminium swingarm. The partnership was expanded last year, with HRC asking Kalex to manufacture the entire chassis for the RC213Vs ridden by Marc Marquez and Joan Mir.

Despite all the fuss that was created, as Honda turned to an external supplier to create a part as fundamental as the chassis, the riders’ feedback was not the best, with Marquez discarding it shortly after putting it to the test.

Whether the partnership can be seen as successful or not, it is believed that the recent turn of events between Honda and Baumgartel shows the widening gap between the approach employed by the Japanese manufacturer and its European counterparts.

Honda has been mulling over its bike for months after it became clear how far it has dropped from the dominant Ducati. After changing the philosophy of the engine during the season, Honda is still fine-tuning the motor with a view to next year – and it is expected that new parts will arrive in the next official in-season test, which will take place in Misano on the Monday after next weekend’s race.

One of the main weak points of its bike is its lack of acceleration, a parameter that depends as much on the engine as on the chassis – hence why so much effort went into improving the latter.