Luca Marini ‘feeling good’, end pace ‘close to the top ten’
Luca Marini: 'The last seven laps I was feeling good, and my pace was close to that of the top ten'
Luca Marini may still be seeking his first Repsol Honda points, but the Italian is confident they are working in the ‘correct direction’ after an encouraging end to his home Mugello MotoGP.
Unusually, Marini set his best lap of the race on the 23rd and final lap - while all other riders peaked no later than lap 12 - and felt his end-of-race pace was ‘close to that of the top ten’ during his best RCV ride to date.
Like team-mate Joan Mir, Marini was racing with the latest Honda aerodynamics package for the first time in Italy.
The MotoGP engine list showed that Marini also stuck with the ‘new configuration’ powerplants, rumoured to have less inertia to try and aid turning, introduced a week earlier in Barcelona.
“I think this race was even better than in Barcelona, the last seven laps I was feeling good, and my pace was close to that of the top ten,” said Marini, who finished less than a second from the only other Honda to reach the flag, LCR’s Johann Zarco in 19th.
“For sure there is still more work to do as the distance to first is too much, but we are working in the correct direction now.
“It’s a pity I couldn’t give a better performance for the fans, but it will be better in the future. Our base now is quite good, we need to keep working on those final details.
“Tomorrow at the test gives us a good chance to experiment.”
Mir felt the lack of traction from the revised engine spec wasn’t worth the added turning in Barcelona and switched back to the ‘standard’ engines for Mugello.
The Spaniard crashed out of 19th place on lap 7.
“Honestly the bike was feeling good at the start of the race and I think everything was there to make some progress forward so it’s a shame to crash on lap seven,” he said.
“I was able to push on the front end and I was fighting with Pol Espargaro. I could see the group ahead starting to break away and he and I had a bit of a battle.
“Heading into Turn 1, braking behind him I lost the front and fell. It’s a shame for sure but we pick ourselves up and get ready for tomorrow’s test to try a few things.”
A further engine evolution is thought to be on the agenda for the Repsol riders in Monday’s official test.
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.
