EXCLUSIVE - Luca Marini: “This is the biggest issue of our championship…”
“The biggest problem is there are only Ducatis at the top”
Aerodynamics. Ride-height devices. Front tyres. There are lots of technical theories behind the lack of overtaking in some MotoGP races.
But HRC’s Luca Marini believes the 'biggest problem' is the absence of different manufacturers fighting for victory.
“You know, for me, the [racing] action is nice, not so bad. I think this year [2024] also we had very good races,” Marini told Crash.net.
“The biggest problem for me is that there are only Ducatis at the top.”
Out of last year's 20 rounds, Ducati won 19 GPs and 17 Sprints. Aprilia won the others.
However, the standout statistic was that Ducati’s performance, combined with overwhelming grid numbers, saw Desmosedicis fill the podium at 14 GPs (a new record).
Ducati monopolised the Grand Prix top five on six occasions, while the Buriram Sprint saw all eight Ducatis finish in the top eight. KTM’s Brad Binder was best of the rest, 13.7s from victory.
Marini, who spent three seasons on a VR46 Ducati before joining Honda in 2024, continued:
“In the past, we never had this kind of situation with so many bikes in the front from the same manufacturer.
“It was a Honda, a Yamaha, a Honda, a Yamaha, a Ducati. Like this, I think, brings a little bit more spice to the championship.
“But now [when you watch the races] you have to be on Martin’s side or on Pecco’s side and that's it. Finished.
“So for me, at the moment, this is the biggest issue of our championship.”
Last season ended with a title showdown between Pramac’s Jorge Martin and Lenovo’s Francesco Bagnaia.
Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini completed an all-Ducati world championship top four but were over 100 points from the top.
Binder, the top non-Ducati in fifth, scored just 217 points compared to the 508 for Martin.
Ducati numbers will drop from eight to six this season.
However, Marini warned that the presence of Marc Marquez alongside Bagnaia at the factory team could push them both to new heights and see “just the two of them fighting for victory every race.”
Sprints? “Less Sunday emotion, we already know the podium’
Marini also offered a fresh take on the impact of Saturday afternoon Sprints, introduced from the start of the 2023 season.
While fully supporting the half-distance, half-points races from an entertainment point of view, as a rider he believes they detract from the ‘emotion’ of a Sunday and make the GP outcome more predictable.
“For me the best compromise is only one race, on Sunday,” Marini said.
“But this is something that at the moment we cannot change, and I think for the show, for the people watching, the Sprint race is amazing. It's nice also because it's short.”
Pressed on why he thinks just one race would be better, Marini explained: “For me, by making two races, you lose a little bit from the ‘big event’ on Sunday.
“Now the main event [GP] looks a little bit with less emotion. We already know who is going to be on the podium because, at the end, the level between Saturday and Sunday usually stays the same.”
Underlining Marini’s point is that the Italian’s most recent podiums, at Qatar 2023, saw him finish third in both the Sprint and GP.
That ‘double podium’ feat - a rider claiming a Sprint and GP top three on the same weekend - occurred 32 times last season.
The 27-year-old added: “For me as a rider, you also have less feelings on the grid on Sunday now. Because you already made a [Sprint] race, so you are adapted and know very well how the race can go.
“You know the tyre drop, the fuel consumption and how the bikes will use the tyre. So you are super prepared and miss a little bit of emotion in the Sunday race.”
However, for the fans, he feels Sprints are still a ‘good step forward’.
“But it's OK like this. I think for the show we made a good step forward. We have to keep working like this to bring MotoGP back on top of the motorsport.”
“A fast start is one of our priorities”
The best chance for a rider to shake-up the order in a Sprint or Grand Prix is at start.
At round six, in Barcelona, Marini revealed he had set a new Honda 0-100km/h record during a practice start, with a time (probably under 2.0s) ‘much better’ than he had managed on a Ducati.
Engine modifications and other new parts then upset the delicate balance needed for a perfect getaway, which now also depends on holeshot devices. But Marini said the RCV had returned to a good level by the end of 2024.
“We passed through different periods with the starts,” he explained. “At the beginning it was super good. Then introduced new systems, new updates and lost a little bit the direction.
“The start was becoming a problem because we were very slow. Also because we changed the engine and other parts. But now we’ve come back to a very good level.
“A fast start is one of our priorities because if you qualify 14th but then gain four positions straight away [it’s like being in Q2] and the race is much easier. So it’s something that we are always working on.”
Marini and team-mate Joan Mir will unveil Honda’s first non-Repsol factory team livery since 1994 in a launch ceremony in Jakarta on Saturday.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
