Luca Marini: Among All Manufacturers, Honda’s Weakness is in the Middle of Corners

RiderTua.com – Last week Honda took advantage of its concession rights and carried out trials with HRC test riders Stefan Bradl and Luca Marini in Jerez. Ahead of the Portuguese GP, Maro optimistically emphasized, “We found basic coordination that worked well in Jerez. Now we hope that this basic will enable us to race well in Portugal.”

After the failure at the Qatar GP, where Marini finished in last place, he hoped that things would turn around. “During the race we understood what went wrong, almost everything. That’s why and also because Portimao was better for us than Doha. We should have performed much better in Portugal,” continued the 26 year old rider.

Luca Marini: Among all manufacturers, Honda’s weakness is in the middle of corners

The biggest problem in Qatar is the change in direction. The Honda’s front wheels were under too much pressure. However, that is also because of Luca’s racing style and height. In the past, something similar happened with Ducati. “I need a bike that is very balanced, and the test at Jerez really helped in this regard. This also applies during the race because my body weight puts more pressure on the tires,” said Luca Marini.

However, the Italian rider had reached his physical limit. “The only way I could be lighter was to cut off my legs,” Marini said with a laugh.

Marini’s main focus at the Jerez test was improving existing materials. No new parts arrived to try on the bike.

Johann Zarco is the second rider to move from Ducati to Honda this season, allowing for an interesting comparison. “Johann is the best in terms of acceleration. The same thing has happened at Ducati. Usually we are faster when entering corners, but he is faster when exiting corners. I don’t know how he does it. He probably has more feeling to use the power perfectly. “But that’s not what made me lag behind the most. Compared to the Ducati, I spent most of the time in the middle of the corner,” explained Marini.

Regarding the strengths and weaknesses of other manufacturers in the Qatar GP, Marini tried to analyze, “In the first part of the acceleration phase, Ducati and KTM were superior. They had the strongest grip, but we were able to survive. Ducati was the strongest in the second part of the acceleration phase. In this sector “We were better than Aprilia and Yamaha. But we were the slowest in the middle of the corner.”

The problem has been identified, has the problem been solved? “Not yet. Why? It’s still not clear whether it’s because of the aerodynamics, whether the mechanical grip is lacking, or a combination of both. That’s what we need to find out,” concluded Valentino Rossi’s younger brother. The team and its drivers must be patient and keep working, because the direction is right.