Luca Marini on Honda progress: “Fantastic” but “we need to be careful”

Luca Marini is keeping his feet firmly on the ground ahead of this weekend’s Catalan MotoGP, despite a “fantastic” performance in Hungary.

After managing a best of just 12th place during his debut campaign with Honda, Marini has raised his level repeatedly this season.

A tenth place in Argentina was followed by eighth at COTA, then sixth on his injury comeback at Sachsenring. 

A few rounds later came his strongest weekend yet at Balaton Park: fourth in the Sprint and a fresh Grand Prix best of fifth.

The Italian, whose 2026 HRC contract extension was officially confirmed today, also ran a new RC213V chassis in Hungary but warned that Barcelona will give a truer picture of its potential.

“We need to be careful because this is a really unique track,” Marini said of Balaton Park circuit.

“On some occasions this season we were competitive, especially at tracks with a lot of grip, but we still need to be focused on our target of improving the bike because there is still a lot of room for improvement.

“Barcelona will be another challenge because it's a track where top speed is super important and also the turning and the grip of the bike. We will see there our potential.

“The bike is still not improved enough, but especially on this track – where it was new for everybody and there was no data – we were able to do a very fantastic performance.”

Not plug and play

Like team-mate Joan Mir, Marini underlined that the updated chassis isn’t an instant fix.

“Still it's not clear what is the best package at the moment, and this is something that we need to fix in Barcelona or in the [private] test,” he said.

“Austria and Balaton were very specific tracks, where it’s more about setting the electronics well and learning the lines quickly to be competitive in qualifying. Because then in the race, everybody is more or less at the same speed.

“At the moment, Mir and I are very similar on bike spec. The new chassis gives a bit more feedback from the front tyre when releasing the brake, but it’s worse while braking.

“So I want to compare properly in Barcelona to decide the development direction for the next update.”

Podium chances?

Marini’s next step in race results would be a top-three finish, a feat already achieved by LCR’s Johann Zarco this season.

Asked about his chances of standing on the podium in the remaining eight rounds, Marini said:

“We are in a very positive trend, and every track can be a good possibility. But we need to be a little bit lucky, make another good qualifying and start well.”

Marini finished on the MotoGP rostrum six times during 2023 as a VR46 Ducati rider, including a best premier-class result of second at COTA.

Meanwhile, Zarco's future was also officially decided on Monday, with a new two-year deal at LCR.