RiderTua.com – Tough times continue for Luca Marini. In Texas, the Italian rider was the only Honda rider who managed to touch the finish line in both races. But in terms of sport, he did not play any role throughout the race weekend.
Smiling, Maro said, “Looks like I’m the only one who survived.”
In fact, the situation at the factory team that had been considered unbeatable in America for a decade, was hopeless. The saying ‘from hero to zero’ describes this very well. The fall is like a free fall. BTW, Honda was still able to win in Texas in 2023 thanks to Alex Rins (then still on the LCR team), but Marini was only able to finish last this season.
Luca Marini : Compared to Before, the Power of the RC213V Engine is Lower
Luca Marini was at least able to fight for position at the Portuguese GP, but he was never able to match track speed at any point in the Americas GP. What was even more tragic was that Alex Marquez, who fell in the middle of the race, but was then able to get back up and advance from the rear position, managed to catch Marini. 5 laps before the end, Valentino Rossi’s poor younger brother fell behind again and lost points.
Not mincing words, Marini emphasized that the fact is, he fought as hard as he could to get the final point just like he did to finish in 2nd place last year and he failed. But at the moment things really don’t look good. Last year Alex Rins won once but this year Honda is far from other rivals.
Maro continued, “I have an idea of the direction we need to go and the engineers from Japan also have all the same data and attitude. I also try hard to provide the best and most accurate feedback possible to the engineers.”
Are there specific vulnerabilities being addressed? “It’s not about one thing, it’s about everything! Compared to before, the old power of this machine seems to have been reduced. While at the same time its weak points are increasingly visible,” answered the 26 year old rider.
“A lot has also changed, now especially in America, I think the tracks are getting faster, the tires are also improving and as a result the overall performance is improving. But we can’t keep up. The reality is, we need new developments in every area. But it takes time also to implement all of this,” concluded Marta Vicenzi’s husband.
In America, the RC213V package is clearly unusable and will continue to require patience from Luca Marini. The entire Honda team has hopes for the next test. HRC riders will test in Barcelona this week. The next official test session for the entire team will be held on Monday after the Spanish GP in Jerez.
