Friday form continues for Honda HRC Castrol at home GP

Consistency is key in racing and the Honda HRC Castrol team have certainly found their Friday speed, Joan Mir and Luca Marini producing their strongest Friday showing to date on the Honda RC213V.

A combination of perfect weather and strong performances from all five of the Honda RC213V machines on track created a rewarding day for Honda HRC’s guests and fans at Mobility Resort Motegi. The home ground boost, along with significant work by Honda HRC’s engineering team, was certainly felt as the factory team put in their best Friday performance to date and sailed directly into Q2 with both riders.

After a somewhat subdued morning in 12th place, Joan Mir exploded with progress in the afternoon and was regularly able to challenge for the top three. Ultimately setting a best time of 1’43.361, the 2020 MotoGP World Champion was just 0.001s shy of Marc Marquez and less than 0.2s from the top spot. An impressive first step for Mir around the braking-heavy Motegi circuit, the #36 able to put all the pieces together when it mattered most at the end of Friday afternoon. Carrying this form into both the Sprint and the Grand Prix is the overall objective for this weekend.

Luca Marini was at the sharp end of the timing sheets immediately, fifth in Free Practice 1 before improving his time by over a second and half in the afternoon. Sixth come evening, Marini has already confirmed his spot inside the top 12 on the grid – a vital first waypoint in a modern MotoGP weekend. The Italian is confident in his pace over longer runs and continued to work on taking the maximum from new tyres in qualifying, a close fight already brewing for Saturday morning’s shoot out.

With renewed vigour after a strong result, Honda HRC’s engineers will continue working diligently to give all Honda HRC riders on the grid the best possible setup to battle on Saturday and Sunday.