Honda HRC Castrol enjoy double points finish at home with retro livery
Mobility Resort MotegiLuca Marini and Somkiat Chantra enjoyed a positive Japanese Grand Prix while sporting a special livery celebrating Honda's 60th anniversary since its debut in the premier class.
Sporting a special helmet to accompany the livery, Luca Marini made another rapid start to the race, immediately jumping into the battle for the top ten positions. As has become his trademark, Marini maintained a consistent pace to hold position as those around him faltered. The Italian went on to enjoy a great battle with Brad Binder in the closing laps of the Grand Prix and had to work hard to keep the South African behind him. Marini ultimately succeeded, finishing the race in 10th place.
Somkiat Chantra was again able to take another step forward in his rapid reintroduction to the Honda RC213V. The Thai rider was more aggressive when the lights went out and the WorldSBK regular was able to remain in the battle with Viñales and the VR46 duo, besting all three in impressive fashion. The closing laps of the Japanese Grand Prix saw Chantra chase down Fabio Quartararo for 12th place, finishing less than half a second behind the former World Champion after 24 laps. Thirteenth place equals Chantra's best Grand Prix finish of 2025, highlighting the fantastic work completed by him and the team throughout the weekend.
Castrol Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco endured a challenging Sunday at Motegi. The Frenchman was handed a double long-lap penalty for attempting to restart his bike during the morning warm-up, which he served early in the race before immediately beginning his fightback through the field. However, Zarco suffered a crash with five laps remaining and fell to the back of the field. He would go on to finish the race, albeit two laps down in 20th position.
Diogo Moreira was determined to repeat the success of yesterday's Sprint Race podium, but on lap eight the standout MotoGP rookie experienced a low-side crash after losing the front of his machine and was forced to retire from the Grand Prix.
All four Honda riders and their teams will now turn their attention to the Indonesian Grand Prix, Round 17 of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship, taking place next weekend from 9-11 October.
“Our weekend did not start in the best way so ending with a tenth place allows us to head to Mandalika with at least a bit of a smile. It was not an amazing race, but when we think about how the weekend started, it shows that the team are working well to recover our situation. More points on the board as we look to a circuit, Mandalika, I enjoy a lot and a track where the bike has worked at well in the past. Certainly, the highlight of the weekend was the beautiful colours we had on the bike today, it was very special to wear them.”
“Our weekend did not start in the best way so ending with a tenth place allows us to head to Mandalika with at least a bit of a smile. It was not an amazing race, but when we think about how the weekend started, it shows that the team are working well to recover our situation. More points on the board as we look to a circuit, Mandalika, I enjoy a lot and a track where the bike has worked at well in the past. Certainly, the highlight of the weekend was the beautiful colours we had on the bike today, it was very special to wear them.”
“I am so happy with how this whole weekend has gone. When I compared it to my feeling from last year, the difference is so much and to already match my best result in MotoGP after one weekend with the Honda HRC Castrol team shows how well we were working together. Already when I arrived already on Friday the setup of the bike was so good and today I started better than Saturday and it was the first time like I felt I could fight on the bike, I was pushing until the end to catch Fabio but I just missed it. Thank you to everyone who helped me this weekend, I really appreciate the faith that Honda HRC put in me, and I am so happy to give them this result.”
“I am so happy with how this whole weekend has gone. When I compared it to my feeling from last year, the difference is so much and to already match my best result in MotoGP after one weekend with the Honda HRC Castrol team shows how well we were working together. Already when I arrived already on Friday the setup of the bike was so good and today I started better than Saturday and it was the first time like I felt I could fight on the bike, I was pushing until the end to catch Fabio but I just missed it. Thank you to everyone who helped me this weekend, I really appreciate the faith that Honda HRC put in me, and I am so happy to give them this result.”
“It’s a pity. I had some fun during the race and had some good fights. I was able to try to overtake and felt strong. Unfortunately, I had to serve the double Long Lap penalty, and afterwards I had lost some grip, which made it difficult to overtake. I made a small mistake; I had done my maximum to stay there, but then I crashed. It’s part of racing, I guess. I’ll take the positives, and now we head to Mandalika!”
“It’s a pity. I had some fun during the race and had some good fights. I was able to try to overtake and felt strong. Unfortunately, I had to serve the double Long Lap penalty, and afterwards I had lost some grip, which made it difficult to overtake. I made a small mistake; I had done my maximum to stay there, but then I crashed. It’s part of racing, I guess. I’ll take the positives, and now we head to Mandalika!”
“I didn’t expect the crash. I was feeling good and trying to manage everything, as we could have been fighting for a top-eight finish, but then I lost the front and crashed. This is part of racing, and in any case, we’ve had a very positive weekend. Now it’s time to head to Mandalika, a circuit that I really like. Let’s see!”
“I didn’t expect the crash. I was feeling good and trying to manage everything, as we could have been fighting for a top-eight finish, but then I lost the front and crashed. This is part of racing, and in any case, we’ve had a very positive weekend. Now it’s time to head to Mandalika, a circuit that I really like. Let’s see!”
