Best Honda Qualifying for Marini, Mir focuses on Sunday
A day of two halves for Luca Marini who went from a Honda career best of sixth on the grid to a solid seventh in the Sprint, his teammate Joan Mir missing Saturday’s action after his crash on Friday afternoon.
All eyes were on Luca Marini as Saturday dawned at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli for Qualifying and the Sprint, ideal conditions holding strong during the entire day. Third in Free Practice 2, the #10 continued to show a new level of speed and consistency which was converted to a sixth place start with a thrilling last-minute lap in Q2. His 1’30.390 was a full second and a half faster than his qualifying time from 2024 and with the pole time only improving by 0.1s, the steps forward for Marini and the Honda RC213V were evident. This is Marini’s best Qualifying as a Honda HRC rider to date.
In the Sprint, Marini put up a strong fight against the likes of Acosta and Aldeguer as he worked to stay with the leaders. A change in feeling compared to the morning saw Marini limited in his overall performance, crossing the line in seventh place.
Joan Mir elected to miss Saturday’s running in San Marino after experiencing continued discomfort and a lack of mobility in his neck following his fall on Friday. With an extra day of rest and physiotherapy, Mir is aiming to race on Sunday.
Luca Marini
“It’s a good result today when we look at our performance for the whole year, but after our feeling in the morning, honestly, I was hoping for more. We improved the bike compared to Friday but in the Sprint, everything felt worse and with the change in the wind, I wasn’t as strong as in the morning. When the conditions are perfect, we are able to be really close to the front, but if there is something missing, we still have some margin to close. The start will be crucial tomorrow, and I hope to improve that from today. Like I said, it’s important to look at the big picture of the season and the last 12 months and we need to be proud of the work we have done so far. I am confident we can do more tomorrow.”
San Marino GP - Sprint Race
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bezzecchi Marco | 72 | ITA | 12 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 19:52.09 |
| 2 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 9 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 1.000 |
| 3 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 7 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 2.551 |
| 4 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 6 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 3.526 |
| 5 | Acosta Pedro | 37 | SPA | 5 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 6.834 |
| 6 | Aldegeur Fermin | 54 | SPA | 4 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 6.960 |
| 7 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 3 | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda | 9.307 |
| 8 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 2 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 11.027 |
| 9 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | 1 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia | 11.594 |
| 10 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 0 | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 12.928 |
| 11 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda | 15.490 |
| 12 | Ogura Ai | 79 | JPN | 0 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia | 15.600 |
| 13 | Bagnaia Francesco | 63 | ITA | 0 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 16.129 |
| 14 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 0 | Prima Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha | 16.727 |
| 15 | Vinales Maverick | 25 | SPA | 0 | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 16.861 |
| 16 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 0 | Prima Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha | 17.576 |
| 17 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 0 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 18.716 |
| 18 | Fernandez Augusto | 7 | SPA | 0 | Yamaha Test Team | Yamaha | 27.893 |
| 19 | Chantra Somkiat | 35 | THA | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda | 28.333 |
| 20 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | DNF | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | DNF |
| 21 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | DNF | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | DNF |
| 22 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | DNF | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | DNF |
Location Information
Close to the city of Rimini, the Misano Adriático circuit was constructed in 1972 and has since undergone an array of modifications. A regular scene for Italian Grands Prix throughout the 80s and early 90s, Misano returned to the MotoGP calendar in 2007.With updated facilities, track and grandstands, the Misano… read more.
| Length | 4.226 kilometres / 2.626 miles |
| Width | 14 metres |
| Left corners | 6 |
| Right corners | 10 |
| Longest straight | 0.565 kilometres / 0.351 miles |
| Constructed | 1969 |
| Modified | 2008 |
Misano World Circuit "Marco Simoncelli", Via Daijiro Kato, Misano Adriatico, Rimini, Italy - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m30.031 (168.9 km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Lap | 1m30.877s (167.4km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Time | 41m14.653s (165.9 km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2024) |
| 2025 Sprint Winner | Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) |
| 2024 Race Winner | Enea Bastianini (Ducati) |
