San Marino MotoGP Sprint highlights Honda’s sensitivity

The San Marino MotoGP Sprint saw Luca Marini once again in the points, but the Italian had expected better.

Marini was third-fastest in Warm Up, and he felt that he had improved compared to Friday, but he felt he struggled more in the Sprint as conditions changed.

“It’s a good result because we have to consider our performance at the beginning of the season, so P7 in the Sprint race is always nice at the moment,” Luca Marini said after the San Marino MotoGP Sprint.

“But the feeling that I had this morning in FP2 was very good. We improved the bike compared to [Friday], but in the Sprint race everything was worse, everything was very difficult. 

“For sure, the track conditions were much worse after the Moto2 qualifying, and maybe the wind didn’t allow me to make a good sector three because, over there, I was losing a lot compared to this morning in turns 11 and 12. 

“So, it was my strong point because always I was the first in sector three, but I think in the Sprint race I was not good enough to recover some time there.”

Marini said the difference in feeling he had from FP2 to the Sprint meant that the RC213V is too sensitive to changes in track grip.

“Since lap one, two, three, the guys in front of me had more pace, so I just tried to do my best and achieve the best results,” the Honda HRC Castrol rider said.

“But this means, in my opinion, that when all the conditions are perfect – with the grip, the tyres, and everything – okay, our bike is improved, for sure.

“But, as soon as something is not working, then everything becomes more difficult. Still, Ducati is much more in front compared to us.”

He added: “It’s always sensitive to the grip, I would say. When there is grip, everything is easy. Like Austin, I remember, [or] Hungary, Silverstone, here. When there is grip, the bike is nice. 

“Also in the past; in the past, Honda always was struggling with rear grip. We fix some problems when there is grip on the ground. 

“But, this afternoon, the grip was not amazing, for me. I was struggling much more.”