Marini and Dixon left with homework to do after Friday in Qatar
Lusail International CircuitA tough Friday under the floodlights for the Honda HRC Castrol team with Luca Marini missing the top ten by just over 0.1s and Jake Dixon focuses on getting to grips with the Honda RC213V.
Three rounds to go and with targets still to be achieved, the Honda HRC Castrol team entered the Qatar with their usual vigor. As Joan Mir continues his recovery after ending the Malaysian GP early, Jake Dixon got his first taste of Honda MotoGP power after spending the year in WorldSBK in the factory Honda HRC team. Clear targets for the day in hand, Marini and Dixon got to work.
Luca Marini spent the majority of Friday comfortably in the top ten, able to consistently drop his lap times to keep up with the pace of those around him. Ending the day with a best lap time of 1’51.548 put him just 0.2s from Johann Zarco who led the Honda charge and saw the Italian less than 0.15s from the top ten – another tantalisingly close result. Although initially dirty from the sand, Marini praised the grip offered by the 5.38-kilometre-long circuit as the outright lap record fell. A night of rest and recovery now awaits Marini as he aims to recovery as much energy as possible for Saturday’s Qualifying push.
It was not a straightforward return to the premier class for Jake Dixon who suffered a fall early in the first session. Unharmed, the British rider returned to the Honda HRC Castrol garage to continue the day. Despite the troublesome start to the day, Dixon would eventually achieve his first target of ending within two second of the leader – a 1’52.393 putting him just two tenths behind Diogo Moreira on the LCR Honda. Working well with Honda HRC's engineers, the #96 is aiming for continued improvements throughout the weekend as he looks to close the gap to the other Honda riders further.
Q1 on Saturday will be held at a similar time to Free Practice 1, resulting in very different track conditions with the session still held during the daylight hours. Marini is keen to show his speed and adaptability and once again fight for the two transfer spots into Q2.
“When I push to my maximum, on a fast lap for example, I am struggling with my physical condition. Doing laps and trying things, I feel perfect but today I was only able to put together one Qualifying stint right at the end. Very strange, so we keep resting and improving as much as we can. The bike is working well, and we made some improvements, but Qatar is a track where the performance of the bike makes a lot of difference.”
“When I push to my maximum, on a fast lap for example, I am struggling with my physical condition. Doing laps and trying things, I feel perfect but today I was only able to put together one Qualifying stint right at the end. Very strange, so we keep resting and improving as much as we can. The bike is working well, and we made some improvements, but Qatar is a track where the performance of the bike makes a lot of difference.”
“We did not have the best start to the day it has to be said, I’m really sorry for the guys but it’s such a professional team that we all bounced back and go to it. All of the Honda HRC engineers helped me a lot between sessions to understand the bike better and show me where we can improve. I am happy with the speed we showed today and tonight it’ll be about seeing what areas and points and going to make the most difference. Crutchlow has also been a huge help, giving me great insight and being very clear – it’s really helpful to have someone with his experience in this situation.”
“We did not have the best start to the day it has to be said, I’m really sorry for the guys but it’s such a professional team that we all bounced back and go to it. All of the Honda HRC engineers helped me a lot between sessions to understand the bike better and show me where we can improve. I am happy with the speed we showed today and tonight it’ll be about seeing what areas and points and going to make the most difference. Crutchlow has also been a huge help, giving me great insight and being very clear – it’s really helpful to have someone with his experience in this situation.”