Luca marini, long considered simply as the "brother of" Valentino Rossi, at the end of a career often marred by injuries, is on the verge of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel of this relative popular injustice by achieving interesting results in his role as an official Honda rider in MotoGP.
Entering the top category through the back door of the Esponsorama team alongsideEnea Bastianini in 2021 after a runner-up title in Moto2 (behind the same
Enea Bastianini) within the Sky Racing Team VR46, the Urbino native then returned to the family structure, this time under the colors of the new Mooney VR46 Racing team.
Consistent and reliable, he will nevertheless have to wait until 2023 to achieve his first podium finish with Ducati, before accepting the difficult task of replacing Marc Marquez at the handlebars of a Honda that had become untamable.
Unsurprisingly, 2024 proved to be a rather unrewarding year. Luca marini finishing the season 22nd with a meager 14 points, but, despite a very serious crash in the Suzuka 8 Hours tests, 2025 turned out to be a completely different story, starting with the Jerez tests.
However, the 28-year-old driver considers this difficult period to be positive, in an interview given to the website Speedweek. com.
“I’ve matured a lot, that’s for sure. At VR46, I felt like I was with family. The atmosphere was completely different, as you can imagine. Here, I’ve matured and I’m very happy and satisfied with my progress. I hope to take another step forward next year.”
It was sometimes a bit difficult, but I loved it. Even during the challenging periods, like at the beginning of last year when things weren't going as planned, I always saw the light at the end of the tunnel and thought, "Okay, maybe we need another year." After each test, I felt the progress. Then everything just got better. In those little moments, I knew better days were coming. I might have been a little sad sometimes, arriving at my media appointments without a smile, but deep down, I knew we would achieve our goal. We want to keep moving forward. I think next year will be even more fun.
The only dark spot of the 2025 season was the terrible crash at Suzuka, from which the Italian would recover with the hip, sternum, lung and knee affected.
« Yes. The worst. It's not easy to move on. It takes effort. I had nightmares every night for a month. But that's what we train for. Now, every time I think back to that terrible moment, I smile because I'm here. I can talk about it freely, without any problems or regrets, and it was something I wanted to do, even though many people advised me against it. At the time, it was the right thing to do, but maybe one less lap would have been enough!
The two women Luca marini He is convinced that the hardest part is behind him, and that the future will be filled with victories, without his brother's help…
“I think the pressure is much greater with other manufacturers, but perhaps less so when you start at the very bottom. As you climb the ranks, you feel a different energy and atmosphere. We represent a major manufacturer, and HRC is much more than just a brand here. We know what we represent and what we want to achieve in MotoGP. In my opinion, Honda can only win!”
As in any sport, there are ups and downs, but we must always be present. When we launched the project last year, I felt very involved and established an excellent relationship with the Japanese engineers. I found a good atmosphere and, in my opinion, our collaboration has already borne fruit. From the outside, this may not seem enough, but internally, everyone is very satisfied with the level achieved. Some perhaps weren't expecting it…
With the 2025 season over, Luca marini finished 13th after scoring 142 points, 10 times more than the previous year, and finished just 6 points behind John Zarco, once again the best Honda rider!
Obviously, he was starting from such a low point that the task was relatively easy, and the 403 points that separate him from a
Marc Marquez Having only run 18 of the 22 rounds shows how long the road is still to reach the top.
But on the Adriatic, people are glad to have finally been able to raise their heads and look towards a clearer horizon.
Of course, the feeling is the same in Tokyo, where there is renewed hope of hiring big names to recapture the past glory of the golden age. Marc Marquez...
MotoGP Luca Marini Honda
