Repsol Honda Team assess new parts on Friday in Mugello
Round 7 on the 2024 MotoGP World Championship saw Joan Mir and Luca Marini start their weekend in testing mode for HRC.
Joan Mir would lead the Repsol Honda Team duo as action at the Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello commenced. Dark clouds would threaten for much of the day, but the rain would stay away for both of Friday’s sessions. A best time of 1’46.584 saw the #36 improve his morning lap time by close to 1.3 seconds as he took top Repsol Honda Team honours on Friday.
A positive start to his home GP saw Luca Marini finish the morning as top Honda in 19th before cutting another half a second off his lap time in the afternoon. Half a second back on his teammate, the Italian focused his Friday efforts on assessing a number of new pieces for the Honda RC213V, including a new aerodynamics package.
The upgrades offered even more potential for both riders, but more time is needed to adjust the setup of the Honda RC213V to capitalise on this potential. Making further improvements for Saturday and Sunday is the target, Mir and Marini ready to take a step in Qualifying and fight for more in the races.
Joan Mir
“We tried a new aerodynamic package today and it was positive, I’m happy with this evolution. It changes the behaviour of the bike a bit, so we need to keep working to improve the setup. Already I’m feeling better than last weekend so it’s a good starting point for the weekend. In the last two exits we were able to improve our feeling a lot, but I couldn’t put together a lap because of other riders and some small mistakes. I think our potential was a high 45, which would put us in a good position. I’m optimistic with the potential we have.”
Luca Marini
“Everything today was better than in the test, we’ve made a step again and the feeling is much better. Unfortunately, in practice it didn’t all go to plan, so we had to adapt and we missed out to take those final tenths in our one lap speed. There’s work to do with the setting because when you change something like the aero, many things also need adjusting. Overall, our feeling isn’t as dramatic as the time sheets show so I think we can be fighting with the other Honda riders tomorrow.”
Italian Grand Prix - Friday Practice
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bagnaia Francesco | 1 | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 1'44.938 |
| 2 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 0.273 |
| 3 | Acosta Pedro | 31 | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 | KTM | 0.388 |
| 4 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia | 0.402 |
| 5 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 0.407 |
| 6 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 0.465 |
| 7 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.467 |
| 8 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 0.474 |
| 9 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 0.486 |
| 10 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 0.523 |
| 11 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 0.542 |
| 12 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 0.712 |
| 13 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 0.760 |
| 14 | Bezzecchi Marco | 72 | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 0.791 |
| 15 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.821 |
| 16 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia | 0.846 |
| 17 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 0.860 |
| 18 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | KTM Test Team | KTM | 1.140 |
| 19 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | LCR Honda | Honda | 1.141 |
| 20 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | LCR Honda | Honda | 1.576 |
| 21 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1.646 |
| 22 | Savadori Lorenzo | 32 | ITA | Aprilia Test Team | Aprilia | 1.802 |
| 23 | Fernandez Augusto | 37 | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 | KTM | 1.936 |
| 24 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 2.124 |
Location Information
Located 30km north-east of Florence in the beautiful countryside of Tuscany, Mugello is a modern circuit with excellent facilities. Bought by Ferrari back in 1988, the 5.245km track has been renovated to a high standard and has a growing reputation as one of the world’s most up-to-date, scenic and safest… read more.
| Length | 5.245 kilometres / 3.259 miles |
| Width | 14 metres |
| Left corners | 6 |
| Right corners | 9 |
| Longest straight | 1.141 kilometres / 0.709 miles |
| Constructed | 1974 |
Mugello Circuit, Scarperia, Florence, Italy - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 44.504s (180.6 km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Lap | 1m 45.770s (178.5 km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Time | 40m51.385s (177.1km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024) |
| 2024 Race Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
| 2024 Sprint Race Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
