Honda best but Luca Marini frustrated at COTA MotoGP: “Impossible to understand!”

While much of the tyre debate after Sunday’s COTA MotoGP centred on the original slicks-or-wets dilemma, riders also faced a critical decision when selecting slick compounds for the restart.

Although Luca Marini went on to claim his best result as a Honda rider in eighth, the Italian, who prides himself on his strategy calls, was angry at picking the soft compound front and rear.

Marini, like most of the grid, initially lined up on wet tyres for the first start. But after a sudden exodus from the grid - led by Marc Marquez rushing back to the pits for slicks - Race Direction delayed the start on safety grounds, allowing all riders to switch to dry tyres without a penalty.

The preferred front throughout the weekend had been the medium, with Michelin also recommending the medium rear for the GP distance. However, Marini and two others picked soft tyres front and rear due to lingering damp patches.

It proved to be the wrong call.

“It’s impossible to understand for me!"

“I’m super disappointed with myself, with the tyre choices,” Marini said. “I made two mistakes: Going on the grid with the rain tyres. But then after the red flag, I made another mistake because I put soft-soft.

“It’s impossible to understand for me! I am always super clever and smart in this kind of situation. I never made a mistake with the tyres [before].”

Marini explained that he had been misled by how slowly the track dried on Friday.

“In practice, there was a lot of water on the ground and it took a long time to go away. While today, in 10 minutes, it was completely dry. Incredible!” he said.

“On Friday, it was raining from the morning, colder, and there was also water seeping out of the tarmac a little bit.

“While today, the asphalt was hot, and the water went away super quickly. Super disappointed for this because it could have been a much better result.”

Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori finished as the next best rider on the soft-soft tyre combination, in 15th.

"We can achieve very good results"

Despite the costly tyre choice, Marini was ahead of team-mate Joan Mir when he crashed on the medium tyres at mid-distance. 

LCR’s Johann Zarco later fell from eighth, a position Marini seized in the closing laps to claim his best GP finish since a final VR46 Ducati podium at Qatar in 2023.

“We confirmed that our package is improving every GP, and especially here I think we made a step with the setting,” Marini said.

“Now the bike is working better, especially in the corner entry phase.

“Even with the wrong tyre choice, I was able to make a very good race because the feeling with the bike was good.

“So if we are able to put everything together, we can achieve very good results.”

With Mir and Zarco crashing, rookie Somkiat Chantra was the next best Honda rider, in 16th.