Marini signs off trying Portuguese GP with 11th

A handful of points for stalwart Luca Marini after a weekend of damage limitation in Portugal, Joan Mir again forced to retire and unable to show his full potential on the Honda RC213V.

Progress is rarely completely linear, the Honda HRC Castrol team taking positives from a complicated weekend in Portugal while working to replicate their form from recent rounds. With both riders showing solid pace throughout the Grand Prix, there were hopes of another strong challenge when the lights went out on Sunday for the 25 lap Portuguese Grand Prix.

Starting well from 13th, Luca Marini was able to quickly catch his Honda HRC Castrol teammate on the run down to Turn 1. Riding at his own pace to avoid any unnecessary risk in the first half of the race, Marini’s speed would increase as the race went on. Powering past Miller on the straight with just a few laps left, 11th would be Marini’s finish when the flag came out, taking away some important learnings about the demanding Portimao Circuit. The battle for top Honda honours and a top ten championship finish is still well and truly alive, Marini 11 points off Zarco and only 13 points from Fernandez in tenth. A crucial final weekend awaits in Spain.

Expectations were high for Round 21 of the MotoGP World Championship and two technical DNFs were not what Mir and Honda HRC Castrol had envisioned after a solid seventh in Qualifying. Starting the race, Mir was well within the top ten on the opening lap until another technical issue arose. Initially dropping back, the #36 retired a lap later. Honda HRC engineers continue to analyse all the weekend’s data.

A single weekend now awaits before the longest season in motorcycle Grand Prix racing history comes to an end, Valencia returning to its rightful spot as the final destination of the year. The tight and technical layout should allow both Marini and Mir to return to the speed and form they had become accustomed to in recent rounds.