MotoGP | Honda keeps the bar low even though Austin is one of its historic “fiefdoms”.

If you look at the recent past, Austin seems to be the right track to help Honda get back on its feet and begin to emerge from the crisis. The ups and downs of Texas, in fact, were the scene of the only success of the Japanese company in the last two seasons, with Alex Rins who was very good at taking advantage of a sensational mistake by Pecco Bagnaia to lead the RC213V of Team LCR to victory.

Thanks also to Marc Marquez's seven previous statements, it is easy to understand that Honda has won eight times in ten editions of the Circuit of the Americas event, but in the Repsol-designed garage there seems to be great caution in view of the trip Americans.

All this despite the fact that COTA is also a special track for Luca Marini, who last year, when he was still defending the colors of the VR46 astride a Ducati, achieved his first podium in MotoGP, finishing second right behind Rins. However, the rider from the Marche is aware that this weekend the music could be very different, given that he has not yet found the right feeling with the RC213V and that in the first two weekends of the season he has always been at the rear of the group.

“Austin holds a special place in my heart and I have good memories of last year. This year we arrive in a different situation, but I am still convinced that we can make further progress in America. The Texan circuit is very particular and Honda has been successful in the past. Regardless of the track, our goal and intention remain unchanged, as we continue to build this project,” Marini said.

Just as his boxing partner Joan Mir is very cautious, having done better than the Italian so far, obtaining all seven points scored between Qatar and Portugal by HRC. However, even the Majorcan doesn't seem willing to look at Honda's glittering past on this track.

“Going to America is always nice, we only get to see these fans once a year, so it's important to give them a good show. We're going to the third very different circuit in three races, so we have to understand how Honda is doing at COTA, which is one of the most particular of the calendar and especially in the first sector of the track is very specific. The track has been resurfaced a lot since the last time we were here, so I'm looking forward to understanding the impact of these changes”, he concluded Mir.

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