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A week after the Round in the Netherlands, Luca Marini arrives at the Sachsenring to put the Honda RC213V to the test on a completely different kind of circuit. A track where the rider from the Marche got onto the front row in 2023 and on which he will now try to go after his first points of the season.
"Sachsenring is a track that I like, unique in its kind, and I hope that here the gaps will be smaller, also because of the layout of the circuit, which is very short. It will be important to see ourselves closer to the leaders and also try to understand what our limits are on this track - Luca underlined - Last year Honda had only two bikes here, because the other riders all got hurt, so we don't have a lot of data. We will see how the bike will perform, also taking into account that the weather could also play a key role. For us, however, it would be good if it was clear and with a normal temperature, at least in practice, because we need to settle in to be as competitive as possible."
According to Takaaki Nakagami, another unknown factor could be related to tire management, made even more complex by the Japanese bike's spinning problems in corner exit.
"In my opinion, corner exit is a consequence and it's the entry where we have to intervene, because that's where Honda is losing a lot compared to past years and to Ducati, which is very competitive in corner entry," commented Marini. " If you fix the entry phase, then you're better positioned in the exit, you can lift up the bike better and find more grip. However, there are several factors right now that prevent us from being competitive."
No new things to try in Germany, where the Honda riders will start from where they left off in Holland.
"Although this is a different track, the bike is perfectly the same as in Assen. We'll see what the sensations will be like here and see how to adapt to what the track requires," confirmed the Repsol team rider, explaining why the choice was made, "Right now we have stabilized, because all the new features and updates we had are already on the bike. We are waiting for this break to then bring new updates in Austria or in the following tests."
Everything is postponed until after the summer then, even in terms of testing.
"The next tests will be after Austria precisely because we are still producing the parts we will need. We are focusing on many things in parallel and our goal is to have a more competitive package for Misano, or for the next test, however, it is difficult to say how much more competitive. Even a small step forward would already be something," noted the 26-year-old, who welcomed the announcement of Aleix Espargaró's signing as the Japanese manufacturer's next test rider.
"I'm very happy. We've exchanged a few messages, but we haven't talked in depth yet, because contracts are signed very soon, but there is still more than half a championship ahead of us and so Aleix is still an Aprilia rider and is very focused on his season, just like I am on mine," he noted. "I just want to see when he will test the bike. I hope he can do it right after the last race. It is impossible to say if he will have an impact like Pedrosa did in KTM, but he will definitely bring a lot of know-how from Aprilia. He has experienced firsthand all the growth of Aprilia, and hopefully engineers can come too, not just Aleix."
Turning instead to the current form factor on the track, Marini has no doubts about who the favorites will be this German weekend.
"I expect the usual official Ducatis up there at the front, because right now they have an extra gear, " he admitted, " Pecco and Martin will fight for the win, but I also see Marquez in the game, because this is the race he's most focused on to win."
