More points for determined Marini in fierce Qatar GP

Another Sunday of recovery for a consistent Luca Marini, his and the team’s steady march forward rewarded with another top ten while Joan Mir overcomes illness only to endure a complicated race.

A fine evening at the Lusail International Circuit saw Honda HRC Castrol put together all their learnings on Sunday for the 22-lap Qatar GP. Able to improve their pace over the course of the weekend, Honda HRC’s factory team were aiming to show their potential after a subdued Sprint race.

Sunday in Qatar followed a similar pattern to the previous three for Luca Marini; his hard work and the developing Honda RC213V combining to reward the Italian and the Honda HRC Castrol team with another solid finish in the points. Confident with his pace in the longer race, the #10 made an aggressive start from 15th on the grid. In amongst it, Marini spent the majority of the race battling with the likes of Acosta, Ogura and Bezzecchi as a large group of riders fought for the top ten until the very end of the 22-lap race. The intense melee gave him yet more insight into the strengths of the Honda RC213V and some ideas on areas that could be improved further.

11th and less than 0.8s from another top ten finish when the flag came out, Marini would be promoted to tenth after another rider received a post-race penalty. This is Marini’s third consecutive top ten finish and sees him leave Qatar with 26 points, 10th overall in the World Championship standings.

Having missed the Sprint, a night of rest and recovery saw Joan Mir return to his Honda HRC Castrol RC213V for morning Warm Up. While still not at 100%, the #36 was able to complete the morning session and ended just two tenths back on his teammate. Focusing on collecting as much information as possible when the lights went out, Mir gained a few places off the line before settling in and looking to make up for lost time. Unfortunately, contact with Fabio Di Giannantonio during the middle stage of the race would result in damage to his Honda RC213V and Mir would retire from the race a few laps later with the other complications he was already facing.

Honda retain second in the Constructor Championship, an intense battle brewing with Aprilia, Yamaha and KTM. The World Championship now heads for Europe, the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez de la Frontera on April 25 – 27 the next destination in 2025.