English
Italiano
Luca Marini finished the three-day tests in Sepang with a 19th place, one second and three tenths behind Bagnaia’s Ducati. At Honda, they’ve been working hard to shorten the gap with the competition, knowing that it won’t be easy and that it’ll take time.
But the Roman rider from Tavullia doesn’t give up, as he forges ahead, taking small steps to get closer to the fastest riders.
“I thought I was going to suffer less in the flying lap, since I had improved in this situation last year,” he said. “But the way to push with the Honda is different, and the bike becomes more difficult to brake.”
Marini then explained what he did.
“Today, I carried on with the development work, and I’m happy because we improved some aspects, and we’ll have additional components in Qatar. At Losail, the goal will be to prepare for the weekend, knowing that we’ll have something new to assess.”
But Ducati is still the reference.
“With the Ducati, it was easy to be fast on the flying lap, because the bike took advantage of the rear better than the Honda. So, we have to focus on this because, like I already mentioned, I struggle to stop the bike the way I’d like to. I think that every bike has its own DNA, and the goal is to take advantage of its strengths without having to transform the Honda into a Ducati.”
Apparently, Honda is an open construction site with the will to forge ahead.
“I think I have margin, but the bike has even more than I do. But we have to understand the behavior in conditions where there won’t be much grip, because everything is distorted today, due to the conditions we found. In fact, it’s difficult to give an opinion, because everything is new to me. Maybe there’s a risk of suffering more when the grip drops, but maybe the bike will improve.”
Another thing Marini analyzed were the tires.
“I think the new rear tire brought by Michelin can help us. Yesterday, with worn tires, the gap between me and the fast riders narrowed. Like I said, we’re moving step by step. In fact, I was able to improve in exiting corners, and I’m aware that I have a margin.”
Speaking of tires, Luca then looked to the future.
“The tires have great potential, and the aerodynamics have improved a lot. I think we’ll have harder tires with the current aerodynamics in the future.”
Lastly, he spoke about the concessions.
“It’s true that we’ll have more days, but I don’t think we’ll have many, nor will we have an advantage.”
