Luca Marini: Engine development freedom “the only good thing” about MotoGP concessions

MotoGP’s revised concessions structure offers only one “good thing”, according to Repsol Honda’s Luca Marini.

The concessions system was revised for 2024 to try to help struggling manufacturers catch up to the class leaders.

More specifically, the new system saw development opportunities opened up for the Japanese manufacturers — Honda and Yamaha — and closed down for the current dominant force in MotoGP, Ducati.

Honda and Yamaha were allowed to carry out private testing with their race riders, bring more aerodynamic updates during the season, and were permitted changes to engine specification during the season as well.

But Marini said that the new system does not offer the same advantages as in the past, and the only positive point about the new system is the freedom for engine development.

“For sure in the past the concessions were bigger, with more advantage,” Marini said ahead of this weekend’s Malaysian Grand Prix.

“Now, they just give you a little bit more room to develop the bike. For example, we could change the engine during the season, that I think is nice because you can work better, even with the engine during the season; while if you make a wrong decision at the beginning of the season then it’s done.

“So, I think this [engine development], at the moment, is the only good thing of the concessions.

“All the other things are nothing because at the end even if you go testing you have a limited quantity of tyres, so many tests we use the used tyres of Stefan [Bradl, HRC test rider] and we try to share the tyres.

“But it’s okay, I just want to say that in the past the concessions were much more useful.”

Despite Marini’s view that the concessions only offer limited advantages for the manufacturers which have fallen behind in terms of performance, the RC213V the Italian will race this weekend is much different to that he rode in the Sepang test back in February.

“It’s very different, and it will be nice to see a comparison with what we had at the beginning of the season, from where we started,” he said.

“For sure, the condition of the track is completely different so we cannot compare lap times, because in the test we always go super-fast.

“But we will compare some feelings that the rider has, so it will be super-interesting for this at the beginning, I think, and then we will try to achieve our best result also in this race.

“We are doing a positive trend, so we need to keep working like this in these last races, or race.”

Marini also said his riding is improved compared to the test in February.

“I’ve improved so much,” he said. “I’m curious to see my strongest points that have improved, and also my weakness at the beginning that I’ve worked on that, now, for sure are in a different situation.”

Marini will have new parts on his Honda this weekend. Although he didn’t say what they are, Johann Zarco’s statements that the updates are about improving acceleration, and possibly also braking performance, indicate that Honda is working in a direction that would address the primary complaint of both Marini and Zarco last weekend in Thailand.

There, both riders said that the RC213V’s losses in acceleration begin in the braking zone, because they have to wait for the rear tyre to settle before they can turn in, and this delays their whole cornering process.

Looking to 2025, Marini said that understanding how to make the rear tyre work better will be the key to improving Honda’s competitiveness in 2025.

“We are talking a lot with the Japanese, trying to understand what is the plan, what is the bike of next year, the direction,” he said.

“We have some ideas, for sure we’re going to test in some tracks even without Valencia, to try to understand the new prototype for next season. For sure, it will not be a revolution like in the past years, but I think we will have some little upgrades, like we made during this season, try to improve the bike in all the areas that we’re struggling in.

“The balance is not so bad. The balance of the bike is in balance, it’s good. It’s just trying to understand more how to make the rear tyre work in a better way.

“But, talking to other riders, other manufacturers, also other engineers, it looks like everybody struggles in the same way.

“Ducati is the one that could understand well the [2024] rear tyre and could make it work properly, so everyone will follow the same target for next season. I think Aprilia, KTM, Yamaha, everybody is in the same boat.”