Luca Marini, like Joan Mir, will part ways with Honda at the end of the year. The Italian, who is also one of only four riders not to have won a MotoGP Grand Prix (with Diogo Moreira, Toprak Razgatlioglu and Pedro Acosta), has not yet signed anywhere else but is on track to join KTM Tech3 as early as 2027. Marini takes the time to sit down and discuss the differences between a European team (Ducati VR46, which he was with from his arrival in 2021 to 2023), and a Japanese manufacturer.
Marini, always very insightful in his contributions, gave a lengthy interview to the Italian website Moto.itAnd it was very interesting. In it, he discusses, among other things, the difficulty of changing environments and working within Japanese culture. « They have made enormous progress in many areas, particularly in their working methods, which we have managed to improve over the last two years.However, collaborating with suppliers, especially Japanese ones, is not easy, as the culture is very different, not only within the on-track team, but also in Japan.Sometimes, Honda is just another customer and is treated like everyone else, without priority.Therefore, the lead times are longer: manufacturing a swingarm takes months. he declared.
In 2024, upon its arrival, the Japanese were significantly behind in aerodynamics, and this is still evident today. « When I arrived, we started from scratch in terms of aerodynamics; this aspect had barely been addressed on the motorcycle.The real leap forward came in 2025, and we improved it slightly again this year, but not enough. That's where I see the greatest potential for improvement from a technical standpoint. because in other areas, we are already at the level of our competitors » he added.
He even went so far as to mention Alberto Puig, who does not have the best reputation, particularly among French fans, due to the dispute he had with Johann Zarco in 2025. « At first glance, Alberto seems unfriendly and difficult to understand, but once you get to know him, you can't help but respect him.He's a great man, very old-school, very different from the other people you meet in the paddock. He always shares his experience with me, always finding the right words with his charisma before the race, which adds a little something extra. He doesn't talk much, but when he does say those two or three things, they're always relevant. » he concluded by mentioning the person who will be leaving his post at the end of the year.
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Cover photo: HRC