At the risk of upsetting HM Plant Honda's team manager Havier Beltran, a man who I have a lot of respect and time for, it is time for Honda to stop hiding.

Josh Brookes is copping a load of shit for the Mallory crash. Yes, he made a mistake, has been penalised for it and no-one was hurt. However, if his team had properly backed him up and ADMITTED brake failure at Donington Park right at the start and not had to have it wheelded out of them, with a mumbled 'yes is was a brake pressure issue' to both myself and live on Eurosport later, then Josh wouldn't be the villain he is now.

At Donington Park, Josh had no brakes and because of that, he crashed into Sylvain Guintoli. There is some speculation that the pair were going too fast for a sighting lap, that maybe so. Guintoli has made some errors too. Click here for his punting off of Alex Hoffman at Laguna Seca.
But the simple fact is the Donington Park crash was not Josh Brookes' fault. Did his team jump to his defence immediately. Er, no they didn't. Did they issue a big statement an hour later saying THIS CRASH WAS NOT OUR RIDER'S FAULT? Er, no, they didn't.

What they did was defend their brand by saying nothing and making their rider into a panto villain which was exacerbated at Mallory where Josh messed up. Big Jack Valentine was understandably deeply upset that his stand-in rider Tommy Hill fell off in the melee. But that's what it was, a melee after the event. Josh didn't pile into a pack of riders.

Let's not lose sight of the fact that Josh only took out Simon, no-one else. The rest of the crash was down to fluid on the track. And that's it. Whatever decision Stuart took was within the rules and James Ellison won.

Let's cut Josh a break here. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes and if we reported it, we would get sued. It is safe to say that Josh is a victim of brake failure at Donington and trying too hard at Mallory.

The incidents are not related. As an impartial observer, Josh got it wrong at Mallory and it should be taken as an isolated incident. Donington Park was not his fault and the sooner people get that into their heads the better.

I, for one, would like to it to be publicly told what happened with Glen Richards' brake failure at Knockhill. It's about time Honda came clean with their mistakes and not let their riders carry the can. Have Honda issued a statement about Glen's crash saying it wasn't Glen's fault? Er, no they haven't. Does that make Ian Lowry, who could have been very badly injured, sleep better at night. No.

HM Plant Honda team boss Havier Beltran is a likeable and honest guy who this reporter has a lot of time for, and vice-versa. I believe he is hamstrung by the people above him. Those people are making him, and his riders and team, look ridiculous.