An extremely difficult day for the Honda RC213V. Luca Marini, in Assen, finished only 18th, a disappointing result that hurts after several weeks of progress.His teammate and factory rider Joan Mir finished 12th, while Diogo Moreira, for LCR, had to settle for 13th place. Marini is going through a difficult period, as he absolutely must try to find a ride for next year, but also focus on his current performances, which, while not disappointing, are not exceptional either.
Marini, stoic, didn't even use the heat as an excuse for his 18th place finish. He even admitted to feeling nothing! « I honestly don't think this heat is excessive.For me, even if it were 20°C cooler, the problems would remain essentially the same while we're driving. So I think the tires are working well, even in this heat, but the asphalt is such that we're at the limit, and since the gap is so small, we're pushing so hard that it's easy to go off the track. I think it's simply that we're reaching our limits; everyone is in good shape at this time of year, so we're giving our best. » he told the press. A strange statement, because Jorge Martin, like others, had simply never seen anything like it in MotoGP.
Mid-session and still work to do for @ Luca_Marini_97 and @JoanMirOfficial, the latter left it late to show his potential this morning.
Don’t miss the last five minutes 😉#DutchGP 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/1EAtHkX3V4
— Honda HRC Castrol – MotoGP (@HRC_MotoGP) June 26, 2026
The Italian focused more on the state of the track, and the circuit in general, and it was very interesting. « For me, the track is in good condition, there may be a few minor imperfections that they can correct in the future, but everything is normal. On the inside rumble strip of turn seven, as you approach it, you feel like leaning over and touching your elbow, but if you do that, you take the impact and lose the front end. And it's easy to go off the road like Moto2 rider Lunetta did. He lost the front end and just stayed there trying to catch it » he added.
Photo: HRC
Regarding his own performance, he knows that he and Honda need to find something. "This morning I had a lot of trouble with the rear grip, whereas this afternoon, no, it was perfect. We'll try something to improve stability tomorrow morning, but because in the fast sector, there's a bit of a lack of stability and cornering speed, in my opinion"Because of the stability, we can't take corners too tightly because the bike is still moving and we have to wait a little longer than our opponents." he concluded.
What do you think of Luca Marini's situation right now? Tell us in the comments!
Practice results at the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport
