Never been a fan of Honda as a race team. They have always had the philosophy that the bike is bigger than the rider. Reminds me a bit of the way Williams and Ferrari were in Formula 1 years ago.
Ultimately (and with all due respect to the pit crews) it's much more about the rider making the team successful, not the other way round (and for successful, also read "popular, with a strong following" - not just "winning""). You can produce the greatest race bike in the world but without a talented rider to use it to it's limits AND to help with the ongoing development - it's just a very expensive collection of parts.
For me, the riders personality also plays a key part in success (despite the corporate bullshit that Honda particularly like their riders to get involved in).
Which is why I've always been a big fan of Rossi, Simoncelli and Colin Edwards. Guys who are/were entertaining on AND off the bike.
Honda seem to be particularly good at crushing that individualism in favour of a corporate image. Look at Marquez and Pedrosa - humourless nerks (to quote Fletcher). Some might say that they are probably different away from racing and yes, there are some people who are willing to surpress their personalities in favour of furthering their careers. But ultimately a racer (and team) is defined by his/her fans as much as his/her results. The riders (and teams) following makes it almost as much of a success as the actual results. There have been lots of talented bike riders over the years, but their personalities are remembered far more than their results.
For example - how often do you hear people talking about Mick Doohan...?
Lorenzo for me is the ideal candidate for a place in Honda's factory team. His is a contrived personality, formulaic and without a shred of individuality.
Motorcycle racing is, for the masses, an entertainment. A spectacle in the same way as gladiator fighting was. We want to see these guys giving it their all and we all want our favourites to win. But at the same time for most of us we want to see it done fairly and we don't want to see it done by "corporate robots".
