Fifth for Marini in exciting US GP Sprint Race
Circuit Of The AmericasSaturday's Sprint race at COTA saw Luca Marini finish in fifth, while Johann Zarco also picked up points
Starting well from ninth on the grid, Luca Marini kept his nerve through the hustle and bustle of Turn 1 to tag onto the group fighting for the podium. Chasing down the likes of Bastianini and Alex Marquez until the very end, Marini would take sixth place at the flag. A post race penalty for Acosta promoted Marini to fifth, confirming the US Sprint as his second best Sprint performance with the factory Honda HRC team. Unfortunately, a penalty for slow riding on the racing line during Q2 will demote him to 11th for tomorrow's race.
It was a strong ride for CASTROL Honda LCR's Johann Zarco, who enjoyed some good mid-pack battles during the 10 laps of the Sprint race and steadily made progress throughout. At the chequered flag, the Frenchman had made his way to inside of the points in ninth place.
Joan Mir showed great pace all day and brought this confidence into the Sprint race, where he kept himself at the sharp end of the field throughout. With third place up for grabs on the final lap, Mir began to line up Acosta just ahead but would fall at Turn One. Unharmed, the 2020 MotoGP World Champion remains steadfastly focused on the positives and will once again approach Sunday with full commitment.
Unfortunately Diogo Moreira wasn't able to continue the good form from Qualifying, where he narrowly missed out on progressing through to Q2, in the Sprint race. Ultimately it was a DNF for the Pro Honda LCR rider.
Tomorrow will see the four Honda riders tackle 19-laps of the Circuit of the Americas in the Grand Prix, which will get underway at 3pm local time.
On paper, sixth position, we should be happy. But I wanted to be better, I wanted to be there fighting for the podium but since this morning I was not feeling as comfortable as yesterday. Everything today was just a little bit more complicated than yesterday which limited our potential. Even like this, we have been able to improve the bike since the last two races, and this is a crucial point. Still to reach the top five, we need to really having everything perfect so there is of course more work to do to help us close the gap. Another step in the right direction and hopefully in tomorrow's race we can do a little more and see what happens.
On paper, sixth position, we should be happy. But I wanted to be better, I wanted to be there fighting for the podium but since this morning I was not feeling as comfortable as yesterday. Everything today was just a little bit more complicated than yesterday which limited our potential. Even like this, we have been able to improve the bike since the last two races, and this is a crucial point. Still to reach the top five, we need to really having everything perfect so there is of course more work to do to help us close the gap. Another step in the right direction and hopefully in tomorrow's race we can do a little more and see what happens.
I’m happy with the point. We are improving in terms of speed, but we were still missing some pace during the Sprint. As I don’t have the perfect feeling with the bike this weekend, I tried to manage the situation and avoid mistakes. We’ll try to fight for the points again tomorrow, we’ll see!
I’m happy with the point. We are improving in terms of speed, but we were still missing some pace during the Sprint. As I don’t have the perfect feeling with the bike this weekend, I tried to manage the situation and avoid mistakes. We’ll try to fight for the points again tomorrow, we’ll see!
Staying positive like always, no regrets. I had the opportunity to fight for the podium and that’s exactly what I did. If I didn’t try, I can’t sleep wondering if I could have given more. Ok, I need to find a bit more patience in the future, but I am certain that if we continue working in this way we can be there, not once or twice but every race. The more we improve, the more margin we have. I am sorry to the team because this time it was my fault, now we see what the possibility is for tomorrow. If there is again the opportunity to fight for the podium then we will go for it with everything that we have, like always.
Staying positive like always, no regrets. I had the opportunity to fight for the podium and that’s exactly what I did. If I didn’t try, I can’t sleep wondering if I could have given more. Ok, I need to find a bit more patience in the future, but I am certain that if we continue working in this way we can be there, not once or twice but every race. The more we improve, the more margin we have. I am sorry to the team because this time it was my fault, now we see what the possibility is for tomorrow. If there is again the opportunity to fight for the podium then we will go for it with everything that we have, like always.
I felt an issue with the clutch that didn’t improve, and I had to retire. This is part of racing, and we’ll try again tomorrow. It’s a demanding track, but it’s important to finish the race, keep learning, and see what we can do.
I felt an issue with the clutch that didn’t improve, and I had to retire. This is part of racing, and we’ll try again tomorrow. It’s a demanding track, but it’s important to finish the race, keep learning, and see what we can do.
