Serious in Sepang – three to go in 2025 for Honda HRC Castrol
The circle of 2025 is almost closed as Honda HRC Castrol return to where the year started: the Sepang International Circuit. Luca Marini and Joan Mir prepared and ready to demonstrate a year of incredible gains from the Honda RC213V.
On February 05, 2025, the season officially began with the first test of the year at the Sepang International Circuit, now 258 days later the very same venue will host the Malaysian Grand Prix. Already collecting almost six times the points total from 2024 as a team, Honda HRC Castrol’s resurgence has been a welcome reward for all involved in the project.
Luca Marini’s steady hand, only suffering one DNF due to a technical issue, has not only benefited development of the Honda but also sees the #10 13th in the championship standings and only eight points behind leading Honda Johann Zarco. The top three still remains the ultimate goal of Marini and his recent run of top five challenges certainly confirms it as a realistic target. Consistency and adaptability will be key during the Malaysian GP, a weekend always characterised by high temperature, heavy rain and changeable conditions.
Throughout 2025, Joan Mir has shown incredible raw speed with a number of hard charging rides through the pack. When qualifying further forward, the #36 has been able to battle for, and take, the podium and repeating this remains the target in the closing trio of races. Arriving to Sepang in 2025, Mir is also looking to break a run of DNFs at the track.
Temperatures creeping into the 30s are predicted for much of the weekend with the 20-lap Grand Prix of Malaysia scheduled to start at 15:00 Local Time on Sunday, October 26.
Luca Marini
“Ready for another race in what I am sure will be an interesting weekend. Sepang is a very particular track and having tested there, you always get a chance to compare what you’ve worked on through the year. It’s a circuit with a big variety of braking, corners and straights and I think this will suit us a little more than in Phillip Island. Three races to achieve our targets and we will keep working until the very end, we are close.”
Joan Mir
“This weekend we need to start well and be inside the top ten from Friday, like this we can have some more margin during the rest of the weekend. It’s clear that the bike has a lot of potential and I know that we can be there fighting with Luca and the other riders at the front. We’ve seen the last couple of races that these overseas ones are quite unpredictable, but I think our package has improved a lot to be quite consistent.”
Rider standings
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 545 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 2 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 379 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 3 | Bezzecchi Marco | 72 | ITA | 282 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 4 | Bagnaia Francesco | 63 | ITA | 274 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
| 5 | Acosta Pedro | 37 | SPA | 233 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 6 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 209 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 7 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 208 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
| 8 | Aldegeur Fermin | 54 | SPA | 183 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
| 9 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 166 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 10 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | 146 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia |
| 11 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 128 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 12 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 126 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
| 13 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 120 | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda |
| 14 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 96 | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM |
| 15 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 77 | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda |
| 16 | Ogura Ai | 79 | JPN | 73 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia |
| 17 | Vinales Maverick | 25 | SPA | 72 | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM |
| 18 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 66 | Prima Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha |
| 19 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 60 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
| 20 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 36 | Prima Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha |
| 21 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 34 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 22 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | 23 | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM |
| 23 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 10 | HRC Test Team | Honda |
| 24 | Savadori Lorenzo | 32 | ITA | 8 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
| 25 | Fernandez Augusto | 7 | SPA | 8 | Yamaha Test Team | Yamaha |
| 26 | Chantra Somkiat | 35 | THA | 6 | LCR Honda | Honda |
| 27 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 0 | HRC Test Team | Honda |
| 28 | Pirro Michele | 51 | ITA | 0 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
Location Information
Specifically built for speed and exciting racing, the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia is one of the world’s best. The 2,300 acre complex cost around £50m to construct and was built in just 14 months, holding its first Grand Prix in April 1999 and setting the standard for race circuits… read more.
| Length | 5.543 kilometres / 3.444 miles |
| Width | 25 metres |
| Left corners | 5 |
| Right corners | 10 |
| Longest straight | 0.920 kilometres / 0.572 miles |
| Constructed | 1998 |
Sepang International Circuit Klia Pahang Malaysia - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 56.337s (171.5km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Lap | 1m 58.979s (167.7km/h) Alex Marquez (Ducati, 2023) |
| 2024 Race Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
| 2024 Sprint Winner | Jorge Martin (Ducati) |
