Mr Consistency delivers again, Marini seventh at home
Misano World Circuit Marco SimoncelliHonda HRC Castrol head for home off the back of a strong seventh place performance from Luca Marini, roudning out another competitive weekend. Joan Mir avoiding further injury after his comeback is ended early.
Luca Marini's consistency shone through once again as the Italian put on a metronomic display around the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. From sixth on the grid, the #10 lost ground early but kept his cool as those around him encountered a number of difficulties. One of just two riders inside the top ten without a track limit warning, Marini's efforts saw him overtake the fast-starting Quartararo in the second half of the race and cross the finish line in a comfortable seventh place after dropping down to tenth early on.
12th on his last visit to Misano and finishing some 35 seconds behind the winner, Marini and Honda HRC have managed to halve the gap to the front in less that 12 months. Ending in the top ten for the eighth time on Sunday, Marini is 12th in the World Championship standings and now only 23 points behind top Honda Johann Zarco, who completes the top ten in the Rider World Championship.
Having spent Saturday resting and undergoing a number of physiotherapy sessions, Joan Mir assessed his condition in Warm Up and together with Honda HRC agreed he would attempt the San Marino GP. His return would last only four corners as he fell on the first lap.
Now the call of home beckons Honda HRC Castrol to Mobility Resort Motegi for the Japanese GP, round 17 and the first of four races in Asia. With just a single race in front of Japanese fans, the race in Motegi is always a busy but enjoyable weekend for the team and the riders. But first, a day of testing in Misano for Honda HRC Castrol and the rest of the MotoGP field – the last in-season test of the 2025 season.
It's good to again be in the top ten and post competitive times during the whole race. Again, we have shown that us and Honda's engineers have clearly made a big step in less than 12 months. It's really good but I'm not fully satisfied; we lost a lot at the start. My pace could have been better, but I got stuck behind Fermin and the temperature in the front went too high, so I had to manage it. If the start had been better and I was able to be fourth or fifth early, I think I could have finished there because in Misano you don't need to worry so much about managing the tyres if you're in fresh air. Really, it is a good weekend and a good moment overall for us. An interesting test tomorrow coming up.
It's good to again be in the top ten and post competitive times during the whole race. Again, we have shown that us and Honda's engineers have clearly made a big step in less than 12 months. It's really good but I'm not fully satisfied; we lost a lot at the start. My pace could have been better, but I got stuck behind Fermin and the temperature in the front went too high, so I had to manage it. If the start had been better and I was able to be fourth or fifth early, I think I could have finished there because in Misano you don't need to worry so much about managing the tyres if you're in fresh air. Really, it is a good weekend and a good moment overall for us. An interesting test tomorrow coming up.
Today I was feeling better, and I wanted to make the effort to complete the race, to get some information for the team and prepare for the test tomorrow. At the start something happened with the front device, and it did not disengage, we need to check the data. It's hard missing the information from Saturday, but I am sure myself, the team and Honda HRC can recover from this. It's clear we as Honda have made a step and I am looking forward to Japan.
Today I was feeling better, and I wanted to make the effort to complete the race, to get some information for the team and prepare for the test tomorrow. At the start something happened with the front device, and it did not disengage, we need to check the data. It's hard missing the information from Saturday, but I am sure myself, the team and Honda HRC can recover from this. It's clear we as Honda have made a step and I am looking forward to Japan.
