MotoGP | Marini: “Problems everywhere, but it's part of the process”

Going from the best bike on the grid to the one most in crisis was an arduous challenge and Luca Marini knew this when he signed with Honda at the end of last year. Today he occupies the place that Marc Marquez left vacant and, as expected, he is struggling to get comfortable with an RC213V that still seems indomitable.

The rider from Tavullia constantly finds himself in the back-up positions and, as in Qatar, the weekend didn't go well in Portimao if you look at the standings. However, Maro he also takes advantage of the difficulties that cause all the Hondas to move to the rear and this leads him to think positively even if the standings say the opposite.

The work to return to the top is not easy and the Italian knew this from the beginning. But the concessions that Honda is benefiting from this year and the work on the track during the race weekends are clarifying his ideas. Despite him finishing the classification on several occasions and with a large gap from the leaders, Marini believes that the overall balance of the Portuguese Grand Prix is ​​positive, all things considered: “Sunday went much better than Saturday. We made some good moves with the bike, in the end I even had fun in some corners in various laps. This was a good step forward, albeit a small one.”

For Marini it is important to look at the side of the box to his right, that of Joan Mir. His teammate has one more year of experience on the RC213V and represents an important reference in terms of performance and direction to take for development: “I was closer to my teammate and this is a good thing. I think Joan Mir has a better feeling on the bike and more experience. In the race he was able to put in a good performance. We have to look at him and understand in what ways he has made progress compared to the tests.”

“Joan has better confidence with the bike, she has more experience so she better understands the feeling with the front and rear in the corner entry phase, in particular,” continues Marini, explaining the difference between himself and his teammate . “He can be more aggressive and risk more in the crease phase. In the end he is faster and that's where he makes the difference, because then everything is very similar. Maybe I'm stronger in braking, but I reach the limit a bit in the braking phase because it seems that when you release the brake, the bike turns well, but you have to trust the Michelin tyres.”

Luca Marini, Repsol Honda Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Once Portimao is over, it's time to look towards the American Grand Prix, scheduled for three weeks. No tests are planned in this period of time, however Marini looks at Austin, a track completely different from the previous ones, with positivity: “We will see the next race, it will certainly be very different, on a particular track. But I think overall the weekend was positive, we gathered a lot of good information. We understood that somehow we can't go with the setting and balance of the bike, so we have to follow another direction. It's part of the process.”

“We tried to have better turning with the bike, more grip in acceleration. I think that now the problems with respect to the fastest and top brands are almost everywhere. There isn't anything in particular. Rear grip is the main problem at the moment, but it's not that easy. We need time to prepare new parts. But we can play around with the setting and in the end we will find a solution. To see the potential we must continue to work like this and reduce the gap”, concludes the Honda rider.