Luca Marini: Argentine MotoGP “can be a very good opportunity for us”

Luca Marini feels securing direct Qualifying 2 access is a realistic target for Honda during Friday’s opening day of the 2025 Argentine MotoGP.

In contrast to round one at Buriram, which was preceded by a pre-season test, there have been no MotoGP laps at Termas de Rio Hondo since the 2023 event.

Track conditions are also notoriously changeable, with grip improving significantly throughout the weekend as the dusty surface is replaced by Michelin MotoGP rubber.

“It can be a very good opportunity for us,” said Marini, who was twelfth in the Thai season opener.

“I hope that we can get a good feeling from Friday. It will be crucial to stay in the top ten position in practice.

“This will be the target for everybody but also for us because we’ve shown quite good potential in the first race."

Honda left Buriram with more constructors’ points than Yamaha courtesy of top ten finishes by Joan Mir (ninth) in the Sprint and Johann Zarco (seventh) in the grand prix.

Will the low grip help or hinder Honda this weekend?

“I think that for sure the grip will be the biggest issue for us in this track,” said Marini.

“It's also true that comparing with 2023, the tyres have made a huge step forward. So let’s see the condition of the tarmac.”

But the Italian doesn’t expect to make many set-up changes.

“The base setting is clear. We worked very well during the tests. We’ll start more or less with the same bike that we had in Buriram, just a few adjustments that we need for this track. But standard things,” he explained.

“So I’m really satisfied with the job done until now. We have to keep pushing like this because we can enjoy for sure many weekends this year.”