Marini, an Italian MotoGP rider, has faced a tough transition from riding for VR46 on Ducati last year to joining the Honda factory team in 2024.
In the first five races of this season, Marini has struggled. He hasn’t qualified in the top 20 yet and is the only Honda rider who hasn’t scored any points. His best result so far was finishing 16th in a race.
During the French Grand Prix, Marini finished last among the riders who completed the race and was 40 seconds behind the leader at the end.
When asked about the race in Le Mans, Marini expressed his desire to participate in the Mugello test as soon as possible. This test follows the French GP and allows Honda to test new bike concepts, which Marini believes are crucial for Honda’s future direction.
Marini mentioned that he faces the same problem every race weekend: he starts with a certain pace on Friday and maintains it until Sunday, unlike his teammate Joan Mir, who can significantly improve his performance during Sunday races.
He attributed his struggles to the difficulties with his bike, particularly with turning and acceleration. To address this, Marini is considering changing his riding style to match his Ducati counterparts, Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin, who have been successful in making their bikes turn by positioning their bodies differently.
Comparing Marini’s performance in 2023 and 2024, it’s evident that he had a much stronger start last year with Ducati. In 2023, he achieved better results and had a higher average gap to the winner compared to 2024.
Despite these challenges, Marini remains determined to improve and is pushing himself to the limit in every lap.
