The Italian has endured a torrid change from the VR46-run Ducati he raced final yr to the manufacturing facility Honda in 2024.
Marini hasn’t certified inside the highest 20 throughout the primary 5 rounds, whereas he’s the one Honda rider to not rating factors in 2024, together with his finest grand prix consequence up to now a sixteenth.
On the French Grand Prix, Marini completed final of the categorized runners and was 40 seconds off the lead on the chequered flag.
Requested for his ideas on that Le Mans race, Marini’s first remark was: “I need to be within the Mugello check as quickly as potential.”
The check in reference is a personal outing at Mugello following the French GP during which Honda examined, amongst different issues, a brand new bike idea first tried on the post-race Jerez check which was felt by the riders as being the path HRC must observe.
He went on to elucidate that he merely can not construct on the tempo he begins a race weekend with, whereas praising team-mate Joan Mir for having the ability to make the good points he cannot.
“For me, it is at all times the identical drawback,” Marini mentioned at Le Mans.
Luca Marini, Repsol Honda Staff
Photograph by: Marc Fleury
“What I do not perceive is I begin Friday with a tempo and I hold the identical tempo till Sunday, whereas Joan could make a really enormous step in Sunday races.
“He was doing an excellent race, in my view. Sadly, he crashed however he made an excellent race till that second. So, we simply want to grasp.”
Marini is fighting the same old RC213V issues of an absence of turning and poor acceleration, and is now taking a look at altering his driving type, nearer to Ducati duo Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin, to get essentially the most out of his bike.
“I am attempting to work on my type, on my place, as a result of now you’ll be able to see that Pecco and Martin could make the distinction with their physique,” he added. “Solely these two are pushing on this method with their physique under the bike and making the bike flip.
“I believe this would be the key for MotoGP for the following years. All people is attempting to make this variation, and I’m engaged on it. However each lap I am pushing at 100%.”
Evaluating Marini’s 2023 and 2024 outcomes after 5 rounds
Marini has gone from having one of the best bike on the grid within the Ducati (albeit the 2022-spec) final yr to the worst this yr within the Honda.
Luca Marini, VR46 Racing Staff
Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photographs
After the primary 5 rounds in 2023 (Portugal, Argentina, America, Spain, France), Marini’s grand prix outcomes have been as follows:
Spherical 1 – DNF
Spherical 2 – eighth
Spherical 3 – 2nd
Spherical 4 – sixth
Spherical 5 – DNF
Marini had made the entrance row twice in qualifying inside the primary 5 rounds of 2023, beginning third in each – whereas from the French GP to the Dutch GP, he certified on the entrance row for all.
The furthest from the win he was in these first 5 rounds of 2023 was 13.6s, in moist circumstances in Argentina.
After the primary 5 rounds of 2024 on the Honda (Qatar, Portugal, America, Spain, France), Marini’s outcomes are:
Spherical 1 – twentieth
Spherical 2 – seventeenth
Spherical 3 – sixteenth
Spherical 4 – seventeenth
Spherical 5 – sixteenth
His finest qualifying up to now in 2024 is twenty first, which he has achieved twice, whereas in the remainder he began from twenty second. Solely on the Spanish GP was twenty second not final on the grid owing to a few wildcard starters.
The closest to the win Marini has been up to now in 2024 was 33.529s in Portugal, the place he completed final of the categorized runners in seventeenth.
Luca Marini, Repsol Honda Staff
Photograph by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photographs
His common hole to the winner in a grand prix in 2024 is 40.009s in comparison with 18.457s in 2023 after 5 rounds (although two DNFs and the moist race in Argentina muddies this pattern, so it is not consultant of his precise tempo firstly of final yr).
Averaging zero points-per-round up to now in 2024, in 2023 Marini’s point-per-round at this a part of the season (dash and grand prix) was 11 PPR (rounded up from 10.8).
