Luca Marini: Honda “can be second power” to stop Ducati “destroying” MotoGP
“They look on another planet…”
Luca Marini believes Ducati is “completely destroying” MotoGP right now as it continues to dominate, but thinks Honda “can be the second power in the championship” soon.
Ducati has obliterated its competition in 2024, with the Italian marque winning all but one grand prix out of the 19 run so far this season.
It has comfortably won the constructors’ title, will win the riders’ championship with one of its runners, while it has also swept the teams’, independent teams’ and independent riders’ crowns all before the season is over.
Honda, by contrast, has scored just 73 points to Ducati’s 685 in the manufacturers’ table and hasn’t gotten any of its riders into the top six in a grand prix yet in 2024.
Japanese rivals Yamaha have taken a step forward in 2024, with last weekend’s Malaysian GP proving its biggest points haul of the year with 23 points - including a first top six - for its riders.
Marini has seen from Yamaha’s gains that Honda improvements are possible, but it will need to “invent” something to get on terms with Ducati.
Despite this, he is also convinced that with “smart” work over the next year that Honda could become Ducati’s closest challenger.
“They look like on another planet at the moment, in everything,” he said about Ducati, having been overtaken by Marc Marquez and Franco Morbidelli after crashes to be shuffled back to 15th in the Malaysian GP.
“We have to improve our level, but also find a way to take out something from them because in my opinion at the moment they are completely destroying the championship like this.
“So, we have to invent something. We will try, because now I think Yamaha made a good step.
“Here [at Sepang] I think they made a fantastic weekend.
“So, it’s important we have a rush to come back and improve our performance as soon as possible, because it’s possible now.
“The other manufacturers are struggling and if we are smart and clever, and more clever than the others, I think we can be the second power in the championship if we make the correct moves in the next year.”
With only 37 points left to play for in 2024, Honda is now confirmed as last in the manufacturers’ table, with Yamaha locked into fourth.
The only potential swap could come in the race for second between KTM and Aprilia, with 31 points splitting them.
