Unfortunately for him, Luca Marini was unable to compete with his teammate Joan Mir in Austin. The Spaniard, who is enjoying a second wind, qualified directly for Q2, while Marini will have to face a very difficult Q1 with Johann zarco, Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi, among others. Honda continues to progress, and this 15th place, now experienced as a disappointment, would have made the Italian happy only six months ago. Luca is not giving up, with the characteristic optimism he has shown since the beginning of last year.
The gap between Mir and Marini is growing, at least on a flying lap. Luca Marini didn't have an easy first day in Austin, despite some improvement in his feel. « In the wet, the feeling with the bike was good. With the new asphalt, the bike is still in the running-in phase, so there was a bit of sliding on the straights, but it improved when the rain stopped. They did a good job on the bumps and grip, so we can be happy with that. » he confided after the first day.
Aggression. 😈 pic.twitter.com/XfLp5I6JlW
— Honda HRC Castrol – MotoGP (@HRC_MotoGP) March 28, 2025
Luca perhaps regrets a strategy that is not well suited to the conditions, which costs him a lot once the board is presented. “I think I started a little too early with the slicks, because I had trouble getting the temperature up and lost a bit of time » he added. The warm-up was a problem for him, but also for Marco Bezzecchi.
All that remains is to face a formidable Q1 group, made up of some of the best drivers on the grid. “At the end of the day, I almost lost the front on my last lap, so we could have gotten a little closer to the top 10Q1 will be tighter than ever, especially with Zarco and Binder. he concluded. It's hard to imagine Luca Marini getting into Q2, but be careful not to underestimate his talent.
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Practice results at the 2025 MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
Cover photo: HRC