Luca Marini is amazed by Michelin: “The problems suddenly disappeared!”
HRC rider Luca Marini finished tenth at Honda’s home MotoGP race. The hard rear tyre surprised him with its high grip. He has learnt an important lesson from this ahead of the switch to Pirelli in 2027.
This article is an automatically generated English version. The
Luca Marini auf der Honda RC213V im Spezialdesign
Foto: Gold & Goose
Luca Marini auf der Honda RC213V im Spezialdesign
© Gold & Goose
Luca Marini ended the MotoGP weekend at Motegi with a consolatory result and a surprising realisation. The Honda works rider finished tenth in the Grand Prix, crossing the line 25.7 seconds behind winner Marc Marquez (Ducati). After persistent grip problems on Friday and Saturday, it was the hard rear tyre, of all things, that brought a significant improvement on Sunday.
Due to the difficulties with tyre durability in the Sprint race, all MotoGP riders opted for the hard compound on the rear tyre for the Grand Prix. This seemingly conservative choice proved to be significantly more effective and less problematic than expected. Marini was absolutely thrilled.
“It was fantastic! Unbelievable!” said Marini. “We don’t yet understand why. Michelin probably doesn’t understand it either, but the tyre worked so well. If we’d been pushed harder on Friday to try it, it might even have been an option for qualifying and the Sprint. That’s something they need to look into.”
A rare combination: durability and performance
For the Italian, it was about more than just durability over the full race distance. The tyre gave him the grip he’d previously been lacking. This also fundamentally changed his impression of the bike.
Luca Marini lobte Michelins harte Hinterreifen-Option
Foto: Gold & Goose
Luca Marini lobte Michelins harte Hinterreifen-Option
© Gold & Goose
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“In my opinion, they’ve developed a fantastic tyre for this circuit. I’d been complaining about grip all weekend. But when I used the tyre this morning, I found an incredible amount of grip. The bike’s problems were suddenly gone. Everything worked well.”
Immediately after the race, Marini was unable to explain why the hard compound performed so impressively at Motegi of all places. He’d already had experience with the tyre, but it hadn’t prepared him for this level of performance: “We’d used this tyre on other circuits before, but it never worked as well there as it did here.”
Will testing all tyre options become even more important in future?
This experience is also an important lesson for Marini with a view to the switch to Pirelli in 2027. If, in future, there are three compounds to choose from at every Grand Prix, he wants to try them all out before the races. This is to prevent a promising option from being discovered too late. “In future, we’ll have to be clever. We’ll have to try everything. Next year, we’ll have three compounds to choose from every time, and we’ll have to bear that in mind.”
However, his enthusiasm for the rear tyre did not mean that Marini was entirely satisfied with his Grand Prix. Tenth place earned him six World Championship points, but the gap to the front-runners remained considerable. At least he managed a decent finish after the problems of the previous days.
“The race went okay, but it was nothing special from my point of view. Tenth place after the problems I’d had right up until Sunday morning is a result that means we can head to Indonesia in good spirits.”
Honda also contested its home Grand Prix in special livery. With a special design inspired by the RC181, the factory team commemorated the manufacturer’s entry into the premier class 60 years ago. The historic 500cc machine had made its debut in 1966.
For Marini, apart from the World Championship points, the key takeaway was the realisation of just how much the tyre choice influenced the handling of his RC213V. At Mandalika and in upcoming races, he is therefore likely to take a closer look before selecting a compound from the shortlist.
Willkommen zum Rennen in Motegi
Foto: Gold & Goose
Pedro Acosta
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Fans
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Pecco Bagnaia
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Jorge Martin
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Start des Rennens
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Jorge Martin
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Ai Ogura
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Fermin Aldeguer
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Marco Bezzecchi
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Pedro Acosta
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Jorge Martin und Marc Márquez
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Raúl Fernández
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Enea Bastianini
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Ogura und Fernández
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Luca Marini
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Marc Márquez gewinnt das Rennen
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Sieger Marc Márquez
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Jorge Martin, Marc Márquez, Marco Bezzecchi
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Sieger Marc Márquez
Foto: Gold & Goose
Willkommen zum Rennen in Motegi
© Gold & Goose
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