Luca Marini finished the Sprint Race in the position from which he started it: 7th at 9 seconds behind the winner, Pecco Bagnaia. He confided that there were a few too many vibrations in the short race, as is often the case, and a last braking stage that wasn't perfectly on point. These were the handicaps that limited his performance, not allowing him to launch the attack on Fabio Quartararo, to chase a Top 5 within reach. Tomorrow, the HRC rider said, "we can achieve more" and, certainly, the solid performance of his teammate, Joan Mir - who reached the foot of the podium - hints at a genuinely superior potential. Honda is growing by leaps and bounds, like babies in their first months of life, and a nice trophy on their home circuit isn't so unthinkable.
"Today, we had a lot of vibrations in the race, like always, in the Sprints. It's hard to understand why this problem emerges more in the Sprints than in the rest of the weekend," he wondered. "But thatìs how it is, so we have to adapt by learning to rider even over the vibrations. Anyway, it's still a really good weekend. We're really satisfied. Having three bikes directly in the Q2 is an important result. We need to continue to improve in the last part of braking but, overall, we did a very good job, and the overall level of performance is good. I think we can achieve more in tomorrow's race."
Mir was also very fast today, second in qualifying and fourth in the race.
"Joan did a perfect lap in qualifying. I missed turn ten and lost some time. But these are things that can happen when you take yourself to the limit in braking for the time attack. Anyway, right now, like I said, it's a very good weekend for us."
Do you have any margin for the Grand Prix?
"Yes, we have some ideas for the warm-up. We need to find a little something for the brakes because, today, I didn't feel comfortable in the attack on Fabio [Quartararo]. I was faster than him, but it was difficult, because the front tire temperature went up a lot, and my race became more complicated."
Can you explain why there were so many falls on the track yesterday?
"The falls depended on the fact that, in the FP1, we didn't use the correct tires because we didn't have enough. We won't have this problem next year. Another factor is that we have to use the same front used for various practice sessions, so we're a bit at the limit. Otherwise, when you fall in qualifying, it's because you're pushing too hard," Marini said, concluding his analysis.