Let's talk MotoGP: Luca Marini, too perfect for MotoGP?

We continue our retrospective of each driver's season, from the last to Pecco Bagnaia. To appreciate the performance of our heroes, looking at their place overall is not enough. Thus, we will look at the dynamics, the context, the qualifications, the expectations that the driver in question aroused to judge his campaign. Yesterday was the season of Marc Márquez who was in the spotlight. You can find the corresponding article by clicking on this highlighted sentence.

As a reminder, this opinion remains subjective, and only reflects the thoughts of its author.

I) A rare profile these days

Luca Marini is a special driver because he is very little in tune with the new generation. Indeed, we can easily draw up a robotic portrait of the driver of the future: Capable of setting an unsustainable pace, falls relatively often, and has lightning speed on a lap. It is also very complete, comfortable in the rain as well as in the wet and on any type of track. We will talk about it in detail this winter.

The Italian is going against the grain. Indeed, if some see Kidneys like a pilot " old " because of his particular driving style, in the approach, it is Luca Marini who reminds us of past glories. Already, his body language is different, a dimension naturally influenced by his large size. Discreet but charismatic (the new Italian school in the text, bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Morbidely…), it does not have the best top speed, over one lap or over twenty and is not very incisive.

 

 

At the same time, it has anachronistic qualities. It never falls, so to speak. No fall in the premier category since his arrival, i.e. 38 Grands Prix. Even better: in two years, he has only retired once, with a mechanical problem at Sepang in 2022. This season, he has been quite consistent in performance and has shown magnificent improvement. Of 2,2 points per race during his rookie year, he moved to 6,0 ppf, And even 6,3 ppf if we exclude his Malaysian misadventure.

For his second year, it's a superb performance, especially since he probably had less good equipment than when he started. The Desmosedici GP22 assigned to him was difficult to drive during the first third of the season. Even the big names struggled with it. He showed no signs of psychological fatigue after a poor start (2,3 ppc before the French Grand Prix), and bounces back perfectly afterwards. Really encouraging.

II) Qualities that could harm him

So, is it all good? Will Marini be a candidate for a Pramac handlebar if Zarco, for example, were to stagnate? Not necessarily. In fact, these profiles are not at all sought after by recruiters. Marini lacks real performances, exploits that could justify a sudden promotion. Since the start of the 2010 decade, this type of driver, although so laudable, is no longer popular. As such, Bradley Smith sadly embodies the role of the victim.

The Englishman had majestic seasons, rarely fell and was very often in the top 5. His seasons 2013, 2014 et 2015 should be studied in flight schools. Regularity, exemplarity, resilience: Smith combined all the qualities of the “perfect pilot”. Unfortunately, it only took one season undermined by injuries and a poor adaptation to Michelin tires for him to fall into oblivion. The Briton never recovered from his 2016 campaign, and the years that followed, riding the capricious KTM and Aprilia, were disastrous.

 

 

When you don't have any achievements to hang on to, say a victory in an era where eight to ten drivers win in twenty races, it's difficult to show off your CV. This is what risks happening to Marini if ​​he does not find more speed in 2023. In addition, he has other faults, such as his management of races in the wet and his selection of tracks (in MotoGP, Luca does not succeed at all at Jerez and Assen in particular). The intrinsic velocity of his teammate Marco Bezzecchi also plays against him, and we can't help but compare them.

Conclusion:

It's sad that this archetype is doomed to disappear. Of course, it's not the pilots who burst the screen, but they do a fantastic job. The evolution of the premier category, leaning towards more speed and spectacular shots, does not favor Luca Marini. We shouldn't dream: as soon as a VR46 rider will play at the front in Moto2 – Celestino Vietti, by any chance – the question of replacement will already arise. Yet, in many ways, Marini had an excellent 2022 campaign, arguably better than Miguel Oliveira's in absolute terms. But would you rather win two races and “miss” all the others, or regularly appear in the top 10 but not even have a podium to your name? It's terrible, but we ourselves prefer the Portuguese's situation.

What do you think of this driver and its evolution? Tell us in the comments!

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport