Hohenstein-Ernstthal [Germany], July 8 (ANI): Luca Marini capped off his most consistent weekend of the year with a hard-fought German GP and his first score as a Repsol Honda Team rider.
It was a full house for the Round Nine of the MotoGP World Championship, with fans flocking into the Sachsenring from early in the morning. The Repsol Honda Team were primed for an intense day of action, eager to collect the final bits of information before the summer break.
Having shown his pace throughout the weekend, Luca Marini was determined to once again lead the Honda charge. Heading into the longer 30-lap Grand Prix, Marini knew he’d need to revise his strategy compared to Saturday and went about steadily building his speed over the opening laps. As the race entered its final third, Marini attacked and moved ahead of Takaaki Nakagami to lead the group. The Honda pairing would battle right until the line, Nakagami just pipping Marini who finished 16th – 25.854 seconds behind the winner. A post-race penalty for Augusto Fernandez promoted Marini into 15th, scoring his first point of the season. A small reward for his diligent work.
Joan Mir meanwhile showed the determination of a champion as he continued to work tirelessly with his team to improve his fortunes. It would be a third and final complicated day for the #36 as he took 18th after post-race penalties, still searching for the next step in the setup of his Honda RC213V machine. Work to understand what happened started immediately as he sat down with his team and began to go over the data.
Both of the Repsol Honda Team riders have identified clear areas to work on for the remainder of the season and are hopeful of further progress when action resumes in Silverstone. The British GP will start the second half of the 2024 season in early August and feature a special historical livery for the Repsol Honda Team.
“I am happy with what we have done in the first half of the year overall, this is the most important thing. Of course, I didn’t expect to struggle so much but we are starting to turn things around now. Our effort from the opening races is starting to pay off and now we have to see what’s going to come after the summer break. The gap to the first today is good, the track plays a part, but we are making improvements. Everyone in Honda is working together in the same direction, let’s keep it up after a short break, ” said Honda rider Luca Marini.
“We have to use this weekend to understand what happened and how to avoid it in the future. Again, I was unable to unlock my full potential and I was struggling more than the other Honda riders. A long race, a tough race and one to learn a lot from. The team and I have already been looking through the data and we have some ideas on what to change in the future. We don’t stop working, we don’t stop trying and aim to come back in Silverstone stronger,” Honda rider Joan Mir. (ANI)
