MotoGP, Indonesia J3, Luca Marini (Honda/5): "Fernández's move wasn't very smart, and after that it was hell"

Luca Marini believes he could have fought for the podium until the end without the contact with Raúl Fernández at the halfway point.

Luca marini concluded another solid Grand Prix on his Honda. Leader of FP1 and finally fourth on the first day of testing, he had a little more trouble in qualifying, with him and Joan Mir still pointing the finger at the RC213V's difficulties in the time attack. Qualifying sixth, however, he finished the sprint race in the same place before receiving a penalty due to low tire pressure and ultimately taking 13th place in the standings.

On Sunday, he made a great start and entered the first corner in second place, before battling for a podium position during the first part of the race. Following contact with Raúl Fernández, he dropped back to eighth position and since then struggled to recover. He managed to do so with four laps to go and ultimately secured a top-5 finish.

Although it was still a solid result, the Italian was not entirely satisfied and considered that he could have fought for the podium until the end without the contact with Fernández. “I was going pretty fast. When I was behind Pedro, I was trying to control the front tire pressure to make sure I was within the rules, and then overtake him to impose my pace, like Fermín. But after Raúl took me off the track and everyone overtook me, it was hell. It was really hot, the tire pressure was already high behind Pedro, but behind five bikes nothing worked anymore. I couldn't get up, lean forward, it was very complicated.”, he explained.

“I lost a lot of positions with that maneuver, it’s a shame. I was completely in front, so in my opinion, I’m totally right. Anyway, it’s part of racing, you can’t complain too much. It’s okay that he didn’t get a penalty because for me it’s just racing contact. It just wasn’t a smart maneuver in my opinion. He saw that I was attacking Pedro every lap to overtake him and attack to increase the race pace, because Pedro was very slow and he was racing his own race. He had a perfect strategy by blocking everyone.”

“After Fermín and Bezzecchi, Raúl and I were the fastest, and the podium would have been easy for both of us. It would have been good for Honda, as well as for Aprilia. Then I found myself in eighth place, behind five bikes, and it was a nightmare. Everything was burning: my legs, my hands, it was difficult to breathe. I tried to understand how to ride to get back up to speed and, when I was able to attack again, I managed to move up to fifth.”

"In any case, we take something positive from it. I think this race allowed me to progress as a driver, I learned a lot. We're leaving a little nervous but with a smile on our faces. We know we're quite competitive, but there are still a few things to do to get on the podium." concluded Luca marini.

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Classification credit: MotoGP.com