Marini strikes again to continue top ten streak, Mir shows his speed
Circuito de Jerez - Angel NietoAlready doubling his points from last year, Luca Marini put together an impressive Spanish Grand Prix to make it four straight top ten finishes. Joan Mir was able to again show his undeniable speed but fell prematurely.
With over 100,000 people flooding into the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto from before sunrise, an incredible day of MotoGP World Championship action was on the horizon. Conditions were once again ideal as the Honda HRC Castrol team lined up on the grid, Joan Mir at the back of the third row and Luca Marini primed to attack from 16th.
Wanting more from his start, Marini had some work to do in the opening laps as he settled into the race and got his tyres up to temperature. Picking his moments perfectly on the Honda RC213V, the #10 was able to steadily pick his way through the field and catch Johann Zarco on the LCR Honda. Passing the Frenchman, Marini continued his consistent pace to cross the line in tenth and claim a fourth consecutive top ten finish.
With 32 World Championship points from five races, the Italian has more than doubled the points he scored throughout the entirety of 2024 – a clear demonstration of the progress both he and the Honda RC213V have made together. 12th in the World Championship and just a single point from the top ten overall, consistency has been the key for Marini in 2025.
Mir once again spent the majority of the 25-lap Spanish Grand Prix showing the speed which made him a Moto3 and MotoGP World Champion. Sitting in sixth early on, the #36 came under pressure from the likes of Morbidelli in the closing stages of the race and was riding on the edge to defend his position. Unfortunately, a front-end crash would rob him of any chance of reward for his speed and performance this weekend. He was unharmed in the fall.
Both riders will continue on track on Monday at Jerez as the MotoGP World Championship will enjoy the first in-season test of 2025. An important day for Honda HRC engineers to assess several items with the full-time riders and continue to gather more data for future upgrades to the Honda RC213V.
A good day, a good weekend especially when I look at how tough this weekend has been for me. Today I think we achieved the best result I could, I am super satisfied with this and what we have done. Every day we have been able to improve the bike and make good steps forward with my team. Our pace was good, we had some good fights and tenth is okay for where we are. I am coming into tomorrow with positivity and excited to find something new.
A good day, a good weekend especially when I look at how tough this weekend has been for me. Today I think we achieved the best result I could, I am super satisfied with this and what we have done. Every day we have been able to improve the bike and make good steps forward with my team. Our pace was good, we had some good fights and tenth is okay for where we are. I am coming into tomorrow with positivity and excited to find something new.
We have to look at the positive points from today and the speed we were able to show all weekend. I was able to be fast, but I wasn’t exactly riding comfortably. I let Morbidelli past because I saw he was faster, and I tried to follow him and escape from the other riders, but he was struggling a lot, and I went wide with him. We need to analyse everything from today. If there were eight or nine laps more it would have been a really nice weekend for us, the potential was there – we can be fast, I am fast. But we need to finish. Now we switch our focus and look to Monday and the future now.
We have to look at the positive points from today and the speed we were able to show all weekend. I was able to be fast, but I wasn’t exactly riding comfortably. I let Morbidelli past because I saw he was faster, and I tried to follow him and escape from the other riders, but he was struggling a lot, and I went wide with him. We need to analyse everything from today. If there were eight or nine laps more it would have been a really nice weekend for us, the potential was there – we can be fast, I am fast. But we need to finish. Now we switch our focus and look to Monday and the future now.
Today I am satisfied with what we have done. Honestly, I went to bed a little bit angry because I thought we left some things on track. But today everyone was able to make and step and improve, we just need a bit more time and we can be there closer with the other Honda riders. I felt better with every lap in the race and at the middle of the race I was able to mirror the times of the other Honda riders. A solid weekend and importantly our comments align with the other riders, and we have more information for our work. A pleasure to wear these colours.
Today I am satisfied with what we have done. Honestly, I went to bed a little bit angry because I thought we left some things on track. But today everyone was able to make and step and improve, we just need a bit more time and we can be there closer with the other Honda riders. I felt better with every lap in the race and at the middle of the race I was able to mirror the times of the other Honda riders. A solid weekend and importantly our comments align with the other riders, and we have more information for our work. A pleasure to wear these colours.
