Luca Marini (10th) is alarmed: “The gap to Aprilia is huge!”

Luca Marini secured Honda’s best result at the MotoGP race at Silverstone. The Italian crossed the finish line in 9th place, 23.8 seconds behind winner Raul Fernandez on the Trackhouse Aprilia.

In doing so, Marini also helped Honda limit the damage after his team-mate Joan Mir had crashed on the very first lap. Mir had surprised everyone on Saturday by finishing 7th in the Sprint, whilst Marini had not managed to get beyond 12th place.

Marini had a “fantastic race” in England

Sunday painted a different picture. Starting from 15th on the grid, Marini initially lost further positions in the opening corners but then fought his way up the field with several overtaking manoeuvres. He did not experience any problems with heavy tyre wear, as had been feared after the sprint.

“No, not at all. It was just like in previous years. You had to manage the tyres a bit, but it wasn’t a big deal,” explained Marini. The Honda works rider was very pleased with his own performance: “From my point of view, it was a fantastic race. It’s a shame people couldn’t see me because I’m never shown on TV. But I rode a very good race and pulled off some very good overtaking manoeuvres.”

His start, on the other hand, was anything but ideal. “My start was really poor. I lost a lot of positions in the first two corners, but after that I was able to make up a lot of ground again. I’m really pleased with how I managed the fuel and tyres, and with the overtaking manoeuvres I pulled off.”

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It is precisely in this area that Marini sees progress. “I’m improving in this respect, and that’s exactly what I need for the future. I can also focus on that this season. Working on myself is now the key to improving further and achieving results like this with the bike we currently have.”

At the same time, the Italian made it clear that Honda is currently facing limitations. “It’s difficult to do more than that – that’s the reality. At least on this track. Losing more than a second per lap to Aprilia is unbelievable. The gap is truly massive.”

Focus on 2027: Stalemate in the 1000cc project

After Honda had tried out numerous different set-ups in the first half of the season, Marini now wants to experiment less. There won’t be any further developments on the 1000cc bike anyway. The focus is on the 850cc for the coming season. “We’ve tried everything. We’ve changed everything, but in the end, the feel, the handling and the DNA of the bike are always the same,” he noted.

That’s why Marini is now relying on a consistent base and wants to focus more on improving his own performance instead. He sees the greatest need for improvement in qualifying. At Silverstone, he had to start from 15th on the grid.

“That’s what we’re lacking most of all this year. On Sundays, my performance is always the best of the weekend and I’m usually the best rider on a Japanese bike. The potential for Sunday is there. But if I start from 15th or 16th every time, it all gets very complicated. I’d love to have a few easier races. Starting from 8th or 9th would be fantastic.”

A key problem remains the lack of rear-wheel grip. However, attempts to improve this bring other drawbacks. “We’re obviously looking for more grip. But every time we try to find more grip, the bike becomes very twitchy. When accelerating out of corners, it starts to shake violently and the traction control kicks in heavily. That costs me a lot of time.”

Willkommen zum Rennen in Silverstone

Foto: Gold & Goose

Marco Bezzecchi

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Fans

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Raúl Fernández

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Jorge Martin

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Start des Rennens

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Start des Rennens

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Alex Márquez und Pedro Acosta

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Jorge Martin

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Luca Marini

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Marc und Alex Márquez

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Raúl Fernández

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Pecco Bagnaia

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Marco Bezzecchi

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Marc Márquez und Fabio Di Giannantonio

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Moreira und Quartararo

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Raúl Fernández gewinnt das Rennen

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Silverstone-Sieger Raúl Fernández

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Martin, Fernández, Bezzecchi

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Sieger Raúl Fernández

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Willkommen zum Rennen in Silverstone

© Gold & Goose

Marini therefore believes Honda faces a difficult trade-off in terms of set-up. “We always have to find a balance. The grip at maximum lean angle isn’t enough for a fast lap. But if we try to generate more grip, the bike starts to shake violently as we straighten out.”

It didn’t escape Marini’s notice that his team-mate Mir has recently performed better in qualifying. “Joan is doing a fantastic job. In recent races, he’s been braking really hard and late, and that’s what makes the difference for him in qualifying compared to me. I can definitely improve in that area.”

In the World Championship, Marini remains in tenth place after Silverstone and is thus still the highest-placed Honda rider.