Under-the-radar Honda star wary of Yamaha’s big strength at Le Mans
Can Honda get back on terms with Yamaha at the French MotoGP?
Luca Marini’s run of four consecutive top-ten finishes has quietly made him the most consistent Honda rider in the 2025 MotoGP season so far.
But ahead of the French Grand Prix at Le Mans, the Italian is determined to convert that race-day rhythm into stronger Saturdays, with Q2 qualification now the clear priority.
“Let’s hit the ground running and focus on getting into Q2 to prime ourselves for the races,” said Marini. “Each weekend we have been able to build our pace and take steps throughout - we need to keep doing this.”
Marini believes Le Mans’ heavy braking zones will play to the strengths of RC213V.
“There is a lot of heavy braking in Le Mans, which should suit us,” he added. “I am looking forward to having another weekend of good battles on track like in Jerez.”
While Marini’s race pace continues to impress, tyre-related vibration remains a limiting factor, particularly on used rubber.
“In my case, when I have a new tyre, I don’t have so much vibration, it’s manageable. But when the tyre drops, I start to enter sliding in every corner, also in the fast corners, and this causes this vibration every time,” he explained.
“If we were able to find a little bit more rear grip, we will have also less vibration. Because this is always correlated in my opinion.”
Yamaha "super strong" in time attacks
More rear grip would also help Honda - the big early-season improver - get back on terms with Yamaha, which has vaulted to second in the constructors’ standings after Fabio Quartararo’s Jerez podium heroics.
“What is true is that Yamaha, on the time attack, is always super strong. They have a lot of grip when they put the new rear tyre,” said Marini. “While for me, when we put new tyres, we don’t feel this extra grip.
“We are strong more in race pace, in my opinion. And if we are able to take out the vibration, our pace can be strong in every race. But for qualifying, we never feel this extra grip.”
Quartararo is currently the third-best qualifier of the 2025 season, behind only Marc and Alex Marquez.
Johann Zarco is the highest Honda with eighth place in the BMW Award. Joan Mir is tenth and team-mate Marini just 16th.
Joan Mir: “We will succeed”
On the other side of the HRC garage, Joan Mir has shown impressive speed, reaching Q2 on multiple occasions and fighting for top Honda honours with Johann Zarco.
However, the Spaniard has reached the chequered flag in just four races, leaving him 18th in the world championship.
“Coming to Le Mans, our objective is simple: get points on the board that reflect our efforts and our speed,” said Mir.
“The potential is there, we have good speed, we are able to fight regularly in Q2 and be in the second group in most races.
“I have no doubts that the team and I can do it, so our approach for France is the same. We keep working, we keep pushing and we will succeed.”
Mir’s Jerez test activities included a debut on the new Honda engine used by wild-card Aleix Espargaro in the grand prix weekend.
But it’s not yet clear if Honda will homologate the new engine for its full-time riders at Le Mans.
“Because we have an acceptable base and an acceptable performance with the current engine, we have to be sure that if we put this new engine on track, we will be faster,” Mir explained at Jerez.
Marini added: “Let’s see how and when we can have this new prototype of engine and for sure it will be a little step forward.”
Either way, at least one Honda rider is set to use the new engine this weekend with another HRC test rider, Takaaki Nakagami, taking over the Espargaro bike for his debut wild-card at Le Mans.
LCR’s Zarco remains Honda’s top rider in the MotoGP standings, in seventh overall. Marini is 12th, Mir 18th and rookie Somkiat Chantra 23rd.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
