Sombre final Saturday for Honda HRC Castrol
Circuit Ricardo TormoA racing incident saw both Luca Marini and Joan Mir suffer a double DNF in the final Sprint of the year as a complicated Valencia GP continues.
Luca Marini put in his best effort to advance through Q1, less than a tenth of a second the difference between his 13th position and a spot in Q2. On the other side of the Honda HRC Castrol garage, Joan Mir earned a respectable tenth place on the grid. Guiding his Honda RC213V around the four-kilometre circuit in 1’29.233, both were hopeful of fighting further ahead in the 13-lap Sprint.
An incredible start saw Marini get the jump on his teammate and lead him into Turn 1, Mir tucking in just behind his fellow factory Honda HRC rider. Attempting an overtake on the second lap, Mir would fall and unfortunately collect his teammate in the process. Both walked away from the fall unharmed. Mir received a long lap penalty for Sunday’s race as a result of the incident.
Both riders are aiming to make amends in the last Grand Prix of 2025, the 27-lap Valencia Grand Prix.
My goal for the weekend was to be as close to the factory riders as possible, I think it’s the most you can aim for as a test rider. I am happy with how we have been performing in this regard; we have made a lot of progress this year. Honestly, I wanted more from the race, and I went wide a couple of times. It’s really hard to overtake here so even with good pace, we couldn’t do much more. Another day tomorrow and we are looking forward to it.
My goal for the weekend was to be as close to the factory riders as possible, I think it’s the most you can aim for as a test rider. I am happy with how we have been performing in this regard; we have made a lot of progress this year. Honestly, I wanted more from the race, and I went wide a couple of times. It’s really hard to overtake here so even with good pace, we couldn’t do much more. Another day tomorrow and we are looking forward to it.
The only thing we can say is that today we struggled more than we expected. I spoke with Joan after the crash, and these things can happen. I made a really good start and was happy with how the first lap had gone. We have another chance to make improvements tonight. Seventh is the objective so that we can level up our concessions. Anything can happen on Sunday, especially here with the weather. Let’s keep focused and go for it.
The only thing we can say is that today we struggled more than we expected. I spoke with Joan after the crash, and these things can happen. I made a really good start and was happy with how the first lap had gone. We have another chance to make improvements tonight. Seventh is the objective so that we can level up our concessions. Anything can happen on Sunday, especially here with the weather. Let’s keep focused and go for it.
First and foremost, I want to apologise to Luca, to the team and to Honda HRC. As you can imagine, it’s something you don’t want to happen, and I am deeply sorry. I was trying to overtake him, and I lost the front. I lost some ground on the first lap, and I was trying to make it up and get into a comfortable position for the rest of the race. The crash was my fault, the tyre a bit cold, a bit off the braking point and what happened, happened. Our objective is to end this year in a good way, to remember as it has been – one of positives.
First and foremost, I want to apologise to Luca, to the team and to Honda HRC. As you can imagine, it’s something you don’t want to happen, and I am deeply sorry. I was trying to overtake him, and I lost the front. I lost some ground on the first lap, and I was trying to make it up and get into a comfortable position for the rest of the race. The crash was my fault, the tyre a bit cold, a bit off the braking point and what happened, happened. Our objective is to end this year in a good way, to remember as it has been – one of positives.
