Marini fights for top-ten in Indonesian GP
Pertamina Mandalika International CircuitLuca Marini was the lone representative of the Honda HRC Castrol team and valiantly fought for tenth, while it was a challenging race for Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira
The action continued to heat up at the Mandalika International Circuit with ambient temperatures rising as the MotoGP World Championship grid began their final preparation for the 27-lap Indonesian Grand Prix. A new record crowd of over 65,000 on race day embraced the heat to witness a thrilling race.
Making another incredible start when the lights went out, Luca Marini was able to repeat his start to the Sprint and immediately inserted himself into the battle for the top ten. Having made up five positions in just a few hundred meters, the Italian focused on maximising his early positive feeling and went on the attack. Keeping Quartararo at bay in the first half of the race, fading edge grip would limit Marini’s defensive capabilities and eventually drop him back into the hands of Bastianini and Binder. Despite this, Marini was able to cross the line in 12th place and once again finish as the top Honda rider. Leaving Indonesia with a total of 108 points, the #10 sits comfortably as the leading Honda man also in the World Championship standings and remains just 17 points from the top ten.
Castrol Honda LCR's Johann Zarco also made a good start and immediately put himself in the fight for points and top-ten finish. The French rider put together strong laps and maintained a consistent pace, although he chose to race conservatively to avoid making mistakes. He eventually crossed the finish line in 13th place, scoring valuable points and gathering useful data for the upcoming rounds.
Team-mate Diogo Moreira faced a challenging comeback mission from 20th on the grid. The Brazilian put in some strong laps early on in the race, moving into the points and fighting hard to defend his position. After a difficult weekend he ultimately crossed the finish line in 16th place.
After Saturday’s action, the Honda HRC Castrol team and Aleix Espargaro elected to withdraw from Sunday at the Indonesian GP. Given the physical restrictions felt by Espargaro already as a result of his injuries sustained at the start of the year, all involved decided this was the best course of action.
The MotoGP riders will enjoy a week off before an Australian, Malaysian and Qatar GP triple header starts on Friday, October 22 in Phillip Island.
Again I was able to make a really good start and gain a lot of positions at the start. Once I was there in the top ten, I focused on defending my position as much as possible. The feeling with the bike and especially the tyres was a lot better than Saturday and we can see that from the pace in the first half. After 12 laps the edge grip started to drop and it became really difficult to defend from Fabio and then the KTM pair. At the end it is not as good as weekend as we were expecting, especially when last year we were so strong, but we at least finished as the top Honda again.
Again I was able to make a really good start and gain a lot of positions at the start. Once I was there in the top ten, I focused on defending my position as much as possible. The feeling with the bike and especially the tyres was a lot better than Saturday and we can see that from the pace in the first half. After 12 laps the edge grip started to drop and it became really difficult to defend from Fabio and then the KTM pair. At the end it is not as good as weekend as we were expecting, especially when last year we were so strong, but we at least finished as the top Honda again.
I’m happy to have finished the race and scored some points. During the race, I had a good pace, but I got frustrated because I had to leave myself some margin to avoid crashing. I lost time that way. I couldn’t fight the way I wanted to, and it was tough. We need to look at the bright side, as it was a hard weekend, but we scored points. We’ll see how things go in Australia!
I’m happy to have finished the race and scored some points. During the race, I had a good pace, but I got frustrated because I had to leave myself some margin to avoid crashing. I lost time that way. I couldn’t fight the way I wanted to, and it was tough. We need to look at the bright side, as it was a hard weekend, but we scored points. We’ll see how things go in Australia!
This weekend was difficult. Today, I tried to finish the race without crashing or making mistakes. I just wanted to finish the weekend. We couldn’t do more than that, but we gave it our best. Now it’s time to rest a bit, and let’s see how things go in Australia!
This weekend was difficult. Today, I tried to finish the race without crashing or making mistakes. I just wanted to finish the weekend. We couldn’t do more than that, but we gave it our best. Now it’s time to rest a bit, and let’s see how things go in Australia!
