Honda progress “night and day” in MotoGP 2025: 'It has restored motivation'

Honda’s Luca Marini says the progress the brand has made with its MotoGP bike is “night and day” compared to this time last year, as it gears up for the Valencia Grand Prix.

The 2024 season was Honda’s worst in the modern era, as it scored no wins or podiums and amassed just 75 points in the manufacturers’ championship.

As the 2025 season reaches its final round, Honda has a grand prix win to its credit this year, as well as three podiums.

It will finish fourth in the constructors’ standings, and currently has 276 points. Nine more would see it lose a number of concession perks for 2026.

Looking ahead to the final round of the campaign this weekend in Valencia, Luca Marini says Honda comes to every race now “expecting to fight for Q2”, with a greater opportunity to fight with the frontrunners.

“The last race of what has been a very long, but overall really positive year,” Marini said.

“When you compare what we have done this year to 2024, it is almost night and day.

“Now we arrive at every race expecting to fight for Q2 and with the possibility of challenging at the front.

“There is still work to do as a team, as a factory, to improve, but I want to thank everyone for their work in 2025.

“Valencia is a circuit which should suit us more, based on what we’ve seen the year, it’s tight and technical.

“We need to work well this weekend to deliver the best possible result and end the year in the correct way.

“Then 2026 starts on Tuesday, I’m looking forward to it all.”

Team-mate Joan Mir, whose strong pace in Portugal couldn’t be realised due to a brace of technical issues, says 2025 has “restored motivation” in himself.

“Our focus this weekend is to take the maximum possible, we clearly have improved our speed, and I know that we can be competitive in Valencia,” Mir noted.

“There’s a lot of work to do because for sure every rider will be pushing to end their year in the best possible way, so I am expecting the competition to be tight.

“Of course, as one thing ends another begins – 2025 finishes on Sunday but already on Tuesday we begin 2026.

“It has been a year of progress and restored motivation; we need to carry this through the last weekend and into the future.”