Having missed the Portimao and Jerez events due to a personal health reason, Repsol Honda team mana𝐆ger Alberto Puig has returned to the MotoGP paddocꦛk at this weekend's Le Mans round.

After enjoying one of his best days onꦰ an RCV so far with fourth in both Friday sessions in France, new HRC signing Pol Espargaro explained how 500cc race winner Puig plays a 'crucial' role in𓆏 helping communicate with the engineers and turn MotoGP data into real-world riding ideas.

"It's not about a weakness in communication between the Japanese and me," Espargaro began. "Sure, the Japanese culture is very different to the European one and sure ﷽it's harder for me to explain my problems to a Japanese person than to Alberto. But I think it's more about relationship.

"For me, Alberto in the team is very important because Alberto is a guy that first of all has been a rider. So he always understands our feelings, even if there are things that are not♛ going good.

"Sometimes the Japanese, or just technicians and electronics engineers in gene♉ral, everyone sees everything in numbers. And you are one number, on a bike full of numbers.

"When I talk with Alberto everything becomes more human. He understands my problems in another 🐻level and he is translating it to all the Japanese crew because he knows them more than me.

"Havi♑ng Alberto back is more than important, it's crucial. I talk so much with Alberto and he unders🍬tands me so well and I'm super open with him."

What kind of advice does Puig give you?

"The Japanese, electronics guys or technicians see the data an🍸d they say, 'okay, Marc is braking later than you' or 'Marc's accelerating better than you'.

"But Alberto's way of analysing this data is reducing my work because he sees the data and tries to understand why, for exampꦆle, Marc accelerates better than me: 'Okay Pol, your line is not the proper one'. 'Okay Pol, maybe you are opening the throttle a little bit early or he picks up a little bit early'. 'Okay Pol, in this place it's very impo🃏rtant to do this kind of things with the Honda'.

"When I have ღa problem, I can explain to him the problem or when I'm talking to for example Ramon [Aurin, crew 🐬chief], he's always listening and he can tell me, 'Okay mate, try to do this. Or why not do this?'

"Things that come from one rider to another rider are much easier to understand and improve, instead of seeing data and losing a lot of time. It's much more efficient, let's say it like✤ that."

Team-mate Marc Marquez added that Puig was one of the reasons why he decided to sign a ꩲlengthy four-year contract extens🐠ion to remain at Repsol Honda until the end of 2024.

"You have your team and crew chief, in my case Santi. They🦂 are working in a very good way and I'm very happy. Then another position is manager/assistant [Emilio Alzamora] that is helping you in your personal sid📖e more. But then there is the team manager," said the eight-time world champion.

"The t🎀eam manager needs to find the good way for communication between the Japanese staff, team and rider and then also a good team manager𝕴 needs to be inside the strategies.

"I completely agree with Pol, Alberto Puig was riding for many years in Moto🐎GP an🍌d - of course I don’t want to say that one is better or worse than another - but Alberto is one of the reasons why I signed for example a four-year contract with Honda.

"He is a really important person inside the team and if he's at theও track it's much better for ꧒everybody, just for everything to be more under control.

"It will not [dirꦗectly] change the results maybe, but inside the box everything is more under control and in the har🍌d meetings, he is the person that always speaks honestly to the riders and the engineers. This is very important inside the team."

Marqꦯuez was eighth fastest on Friday, at the start of his third weekend since returning to MotoGP action after last year's fractured arm complications.

Honda has not won a MotoGP race sin﷽ce Marquez's last victory at Valencia in 2019.