RiderTua.com – Luca Marini knew from the start of signing the contract with the official Repsol Honda team, that riding the Honda RC213V would be difficult compared to the Ducati Desmosedici, the most competitive bike on the grid. The Honda RC213V needed time before it could approach the podium area. Even the pre-season forecast announced a very tricky start to the MotoGP season for Honda and that is exactly what will happen. No rider from the Japanese brand reached the top 10 in Qatar and the RC213V remains a bike that still has a lot to improve. Joan Mir finished in 13th place with a gap of 0.18 seconds from the winner, Luca Marini in 20th with a difference of 0.42 seconds. HRC’s best finish was Johann Zarco, 12th, with the experienced rider could play a central role in the evolution of the gold-winged manufacturer’s prototype.
Luca Marini knew from the start that riding Honda RC213V would be difficult
A tough start for Marini.. The Honda newcomer won’t remember his debut with much excitement.. finishing last in the Sprint race and penultimate in Sunday’s race. By a significant margin that highlights just how tough his first season as a factory rider was and how much time his bike needed to cover some kilometers before it was able to compete with the big names again. After the race, Luca Marini reported a small technical problem that made the Qatar race complicated, although he did not intend to make excuses.. “Even without the problem, I would not have been able to fight for positions like my teammate (Joan Mir),” he said.. According to rumors in paddock, it was a problem with the electronic mapping, perhaps the result of a frenetic moment at the start of the race after Raul Fernandez‘s stoppage…
The revolution of the new Honda RC213V takes time.. However, the first MotoGP rounds with Honda represent a comparison with the reality experienced by brother Valentino Rossi, which was already visible during the winter tests. At the time of signing, he knew that things would be tough with the RC213V but he accepted this assignment with great enthusiasm, confident that he could make a good contribution to the Gold Wings team’s fight back to the top. The team driven by Alberto Puig has of course started a phase of rebirth at every level (a complete change of the bike), but there is still a lot of hard work and time needed before the bike becomes competitive. The commitment was clear in the Honda garage where at Losail Marini and Mir could rely on the support of a test team that came directly from Jerez, where Stefan Bradl had carried out a private test a few days earlier.
According to rumors in the paddock, there was a problem with the electronic mapping of Luca Marini’s bike, possibly the result of a frenetic moment at the start when the race was about to start after the start was stopped due to Raul Fernandez’s problems…
After more than a decade with Marc Marquez the balance at Honda has changed, there is no longer one rider dictating the evolution of the bike. A philosophy that of course led to the achievement of six MotoGP titles from 2013 to 2019, then the champion’s injury at Jerez 2020 opened Pandora’s box, highlighting all the shortcomings in the evolution of the RC213V. The termination of the contract, with the Cervera rider signing a one-year contract with Gresini, prompted the Japanese brand to change the way it works, new concepts and get closer to European manufacturers. Physiological adjustment or adaptation to a new environment is not easy, but Honda can rely on a system of new concessions, one of which is more freedom to carry out tests and the possibility of working on their V4 engine can be further refined.
