Small margins the difference in Motegi for Repsol Honda Team
A typical day at the Japanese GP as sporadic rain throughout the day made for stop and go action, Joan Mir taking 16th and Luca Marini 21st as they dialed in their Repsol Honda Team machines at home.
Straight to work for Joan Mir in front of an excited home crowd as the Japanese GP began in earnest at Mobility Resort Motegi. Amongst the first out in the morning session, Mir ducked and dived into the pits around the showers which punctuated the day as he and the team assessed their base setting. Setting a best time of 1’44.670 in the afternoon saw the 2020 MotoGP World Champion finish Friday in 16th, having spent the majority of the time challenging the top ten.
Luca Marini had a more complicated day than his teammate. Ending Friday in 21st overall and with a best time of 1’45.118, the Italian was unable to recapture the feeling he has had for the past two races. He and his team are already working on plans to make progress on Saturday and return to consistently challenging for the point scoring positions. Marini is confident that the performance of local hero Takaaki Nakagami, 12th and fastest Honda, is a sign of the dormant potential of the Honda RC213V.
Weather looks like it will play a factor on Saturday as well with more sporadic showers forecast for the morning.
Joan Mir
“Not a bad day, we’re able to see some improvements over the course of the day so we should be happy about that. During the whole day I was able to challenge the top 12 and be in the mix for Q2 which is a positive and shows we are going the right way. In the time attack I wasn’t quite able to put together my perfect lap and we have a couple of tenths if we look at all the best sectors I did. We are still working on improving the vibrations we’ve had for the past few rounds. Tomorrow, we look to make another step.”
Luca Marini
“A tricky day for me, it’s a feeling I haven’t had before. I had a lot less rear grip than normal and the vibration I am experiencing a lot more than ever before. The last two races we have been able to solve it so we need to understand how the situation is different here. I think we can improve because Taka made a great lap today, so there’s potential to do more here. Now we work to improve more for the weekend.”
Grand Prix of Japan - Friday Practice
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1'43.436 |
| 2 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 0.033 |
| 3 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.132 |
| 4 | Acosta Pedro | 31 | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 | KTM | 0.147 |
| 5 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 0.169 |
| 6 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 0.284 |
| 7 | Bagnaia Francesco | 1 | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 0.318 |
| 8 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 0.597 |
| 9 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 0.646 |
| 10 | Bezzecchi Marco | 72 | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 0.773 |
| 11 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 0.803 |
| 12 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | LCR Honda | Honda | 0.822 |
| 13 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.890 |
| 14 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 0.965 |
| 15 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 1.034 |
| 16 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1.234 |
| 17 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | LCR Honda | Honda | 1.249 |
| 18 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia | 1.258 |
| 19 | Fernandez Augusto | 37 | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 | KTM | 1.433 |
| 20 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1.514 |
| 21 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1.682 |
| 22 | Savadori Lorenzo | 32 | ITA | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia | 2.427 |
| 23 | Gardner Remy | 87 | AUS | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 3.280 |
Location Information
Located amongst the vast natural beauty of the northern Kanto district, the twin ring circuit at Motegi in Japan consists of a 1.5 mile oval and a 2.9 mile road course constructed to international standards. Built by Honda as the ultimate test facility in August 1997, the road circuit became… read more.
| Length | 4.801 kilometres / 2.983 miles |
| Width | 15 metres |
| Left corners | 6 |
| Right corners | 8 |
| Longest straight | 0.762 kilometres / 0.473 miles |
| Constructed | 1997 |
Twin Ring Motegi, Haga District, Tochigi, Japan - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 43.018s (167.7km/h) Pedro Acosta (KTM, 2024) |
| Race Lap | 1m 44.461s (165.4km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Time | 42m 09.790s (163.9km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2024) |
| 2024 Sprint Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
| 2024 Race Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
