Honda optimistic for Argentinian MotoGP: “I think we can be competitive from the start”
Joan Mir is hopeful that Honda can show competitive performance at the Argentinian MotoGP.
The second stop on the MotoGP schedule is the Argentinian Grand Prix at Termas de Rio Hondo, somewhere Honda has dominated in the past with Marc Marquez, but where it’s without a podium from a rider other than Marquez since Cal Crutchlow won in 2018.
Seven years have passed since then, and Honda is in a firmly different era by now, with Joan Mir and Luca Marini as the riders hoping to lead the Honda HRC Castrol team back to the front of MotoGP.
For Mir, this weekend’s Argentinian race is a chance to turn the potential he showed in Thailand into an on-paper result after he crashed out of the first Grand Prix of the season for only the second time in his premier class career at Buriram.
The space he showed at the opening round leaves him optimistic for Argentina, even saying that he thinks he and Honda “can be competitive from the start”.
“I am looking forward to this race after what we showed last time out in Thailand,” he said.
“We are capable of a lot and it’s important to get some points on the board and deliver.
“Argentina will be a different weekend to Thailand because we arrive without testing there but we normally have a very strong base, I think that we can be competitive from the start.
“In the past I have had some good results in Argentina, so I think the pieces are there to have a solid weekend and keep our season progressing.”
After the race was cancelled in 2024, the 2025 Argentinian Grand Prix will be the first time Luca Marini will visit Termas de Rio Hondo as a Honda rider, and therefore with the RC213V.
This isn’t something he expects to be an issue, however.
“In Thailand we were able to accomplish a very good weekend overall, so now flying to Argentina I am optimistic we can continue in this way,” said Marini.
“I don’t think arriving there ‘for the first [time]’ on the Honda will be a problem – the team and I did a lot of work over the off-season to get the base of the bike into a good position so I know that we can start correctly.”
Argentina is also a place that holds positive memories for Marini, having been on the podium for the first time in MotoGP in the 2023 Sprint; and the Italian will stay for another day in South America for the launch event for the Brazilian Grand Prix in Goiania on Monday.
“In 2023 I achieved my first Sprint podium in Argentina, and I hope that we can have a positive weekend with the Honda HRC Castrol team,” he said.
“After Argentina, I will go to Brazil for the first time to try the new track we will race at next year – an exciting trip!”
Alex joined the Crash.net team in August of 2024 having covered consumer and racing motorcycle news at Visordown for two years.
