All Honda riders score points in Austrian Grand Prix
Red Bull Ring - SpielbergJohann Zarco led the Honda contingent at the Red Bull Ring as both LCR Honda and Honda HRC Castrol riders finished inside the top 15.
Castrol Honda LCR’s Johann Zarco rounded off a positive weekend in 10th position, despite initially dropping back to 15th at the start. The Frenchman kept his composure and used his experience to fight back into the top ten, finishing the 15th round of the season as the top Honda rider.
Takaaki Nakagami’s return to MotoGP has been an impressive one, and the Japanese rider continued his upward trajectory with a great ride from 18th on the grid to 13th. The result marked Nakagami’s first MotoGP points since he scored a sensational sixth at the 2025 French GP in mixed conditions — a perfect foundation ahead of his home wildcard appearance at Motegi.
Sunday proved more complicated than anticipated for Luca Marini. The Italian tangled with several riders on the opening lap and lost ground. Keeping calm, he shifted his attention to hunting down his rivals and began to make a charge in the closing stages as those around him struggled with tyre wear. Marini crossed the line just over a second behind his teammate Nakagami and continues his consistent run of points finishes.
Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira headed into the 28‑lap race with confidence following a positive warm‑up session and was determined to bounce back after the disappointment of the Sprint Race. Unfortunately, he struggled with front‑end feeling and was unable to make up ground from his 15th‑place starting position.
The 16th round of the MotoGP World Championship will take place at Honda’s home round at Motegi for the Japanese Grand Prix on 02–04 October.
"It was a great weekend overall. Today, 10th was the best we could do. The first lap was tricky, so I lost some positions trying to avoid contact. From there, I managed the tyres and tried to find the pace and make some overtakes. We did a good job, and I’m happy!”
"It was a great weekend overall. Today, 10th was the best we could do. The first lap was tricky, so I lost some positions trying to avoid contact. From there, I managed the tyres and tried to find the pace and make some overtakes. We did a good job, and I’m happy!”
“A great result today, I am of course really happy with how we have worked as a team this weekend. In the Sprint we got some good information for today and made some changes, especially on the electronics side, to help us manage. 28 laps were really tough with the direction that we went, I had to be super precise, but I knew that in the second half of the race I would have more tyre. I wasn’t expecting to finish ahead of some of the riders I did, so we have to be pleased. Let’s keep raising the level in Motegi with the Test Team. Tomorrow, I go back to my ‘normal’ job – a very busy period now.”
“A great result today, I am of course really happy with how we have worked as a team this weekend. In the Sprint we got some good information for today and made some changes, especially on the electronics side, to help us manage. 28 laps were really tough with the direction that we went, I had to be super precise, but I knew that in the second half of the race I would have more tyre. I wasn’t expecting to finish ahead of some of the riders I did, so we have to be pleased. Let’s keep raising the level in Motegi with the Test Team. Tomorrow, I go back to my ‘normal’ job – a very busy period now.”
“I had a lot of contact on the first lap, and I lost a lot of time, so I just focused on staying calm and managing everything for the last laps. Unfortunately, most people managed the situation, and we could not make as big of a late comeback as I was hoping for. We’ve worked a lot on the bike all weekend, right up until the race to try and find more grip in the rear. It didn’t work as we expected and it has been a tough Sunday. Congratulations to Taka, he showed his speed and put together a good weekend.”
“I had a lot of contact on the first lap, and I lost a lot of time, so I just focused on staying calm and managing everything for the last laps. Unfortunately, most people managed the situation, and we could not make as big of a late comeback as I was hoping for. We’ve worked a lot on the bike all weekend, right up until the race to try and find more grip in the rear. It didn’t work as we expected and it has been a tough Sunday. Congratulations to Taka, he showed his speed and put together a good weekend.”
“The good feeling I had this morning wasn’t there during the race, even though we didn’t change anything. We are now trying to understand why I felt this way. In any case, I tried to overtake my rivals, push as hard as I could, and at least finish in the points. We learn from every situation, and we’ll try to come back stronger and do better in the next race.”
“The good feeling I had this morning wasn’t there during the race, even though we didn’t change anything. We are now trying to understand why I felt this way. In any case, I tried to overtake my rivals, push as hard as I could, and at least finish in the points. We learn from every situation, and we’ll try to come back stronger and do better in the next race.”
