“A pity you couldn't see it!” - Luca Marini on “amazing” Silverstone MotoGP race

HRC's Luca Marini once again finished as the leading rider on a Japanese bike after climbing from 15th to ninth in Sunday’s Silverstone MotoGP.

However, the Italian was disappointed to discover that little of his progress had been shown on the live TV broadcast.

“Well, on my side, an amazing race. It's a pity that you couldn't see me, because I was never shown on the TV!” he smiled.

“But I did a very good race. Very good overtakes.

“My start was really bad, first two corners I lost a lot of positions. But then I recovered a lot and I'm really satisfied about the management of the fuel, the tyre, and the overtakes.

“I'm improving on this side and this is what I need for the future and also what I can aim for this season.”

With manufacturers increasingly turning their attention to next year’s new 850cc/Pirelli machines, Marini's focus is on improving his own performance with the current Honda package.

“Working on myself and getting this kind of result with the bike that we have at the moment, because more than this is difficult," he said.

“This [result] is the reality, at least on this circuit, because taking more than one second per lap from Aprilia is unbelievable. It's really huge, the gap.”

Meanwhile, after several riders suffered a major performance drop from the soft rear tyre in the Sprint, Marini said he had no significant issues with the medium compound in the grand prix.

“It was the same as the past years, I think. A little bit of management, but not a drama,” he said.

Marini had hinted that his future move to Tech3 KTM might be officially confirmed during the Silverstone weekend, but the event passed without any announcement.

With team-mate Joan Mir crashing out, LCR’s Diogo Moreira was the next-best Honda rider, finishing 1.6 seconds behind Marini.