Sombre final Saturday for Honda HRC Castrol
A racing incident saw both Luca Marini and Joan Mir suffer a double DNF in the final Sprint of the year as a complicated Valencia GP continues.
Luca Marini put in his best effort to advance through Q1, less than a tenth of a second the difference between his 13th position and a spot in Q2. On the other side of the Honda HRC Castrol garage, Joan Mir earned a respectable tenth place on the grid. Guiding his Honda RC213V around the four-kilometre circuit in 1’29.233, both were hopeful of fighting further ahead in the 13-lap Sprint.
An incredible start saw Marini get the jump on his teammate and lead him into Turn 1, Mir tucking in just behind his fellow factory Honda HRC rider. Attempting an overtake on the second lap, Mir would fall and unfortunately collect his teammate in the process. Both walked away from the fall unharmed. Mir received a long lap penalty for Sunday’s race as a result of the incident.
Both riders are aiming to make amends in the last Grand Prix of 2025, the 27-lap Valencia Grand Prix.
Luca Marini
“The only thing we can say is that today we struggled more than we expected. I spoke with Joan after the crash, and these things can happen. I made a really good start and was happy with how the first lap had gone. We have another chance to make improvements tonight. Seventh is the objective so that we can level up our concessions. Anything can happen on Sunday, especially here with the weather. Let’s keep focused and go for it.”
Joan Mir
“First and foremost, I want to apologise to Luca, to the team and to Honda HRC. As you can imagine, it’s something you don’t want to happen, and I am deeply sorry. I was trying to overtake him, and I lost the front. I lost some ground on the first lap, and I was trying to make it up and get into a comfortable position for the rest of the race. The crash was my fault, the tyre a bit cold, a bit off the braking point and what happened, happened. Our objective is to end this year in a good way, to remember as it has been – one of positives.”
Valencia GP - Sprint Race
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 12 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 19'37.490 |
| 2 | Acosta Pedro | 37 | SPA | 9 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1.149 |
| 3 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 7 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 2.637 |
| 4 | Fernandez Raul | 25 | SPA | 6 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia | 3.519 |
| 5 | Bezzecchi Marco | 72 | ITA | 5 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 3.727 |
| 6 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 4 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 6.349 |
| 7 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 3 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 7.102 |
| 8 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 2 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 7.352 |
| 9 | Ogura Ai | 79 | JPN | 1 | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia | 7.685 |
| 10 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda | 9.346 |
| 11 | Aldegeur Fermin | 54 | SPA | 0 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 10.067 |
| 12 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 0 | Prima Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha | 11.148 |
| 13 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 0 | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 11.911 |
| 14 | Bagnaia Francesco | 63 | ITA | 0 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 11.957 |
| 15 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 0 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 14.264 |
| 16 | Bulega Nicolo | 11 | ITA | 0 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 14.951 |
| 17 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 0 | Prima Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha | 15.597 |
| 18 | Vinales Maverick | 25 | SPA | 0 | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 16.699 |
| 19 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 0 | HRC Test Team | Honda | 16.885 |
| 20 | Fernandez Augusto | 7 | SPA | 0 | Yamaha Test Team | Yamaha | 18.846 |
| 21 | Chantra Somkiat | 35 | THA | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda | 23.028 |
| 22 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 0 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 23.655 |
| 23 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | DNF | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda | DNF |
| 24 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | DNF | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda | DNF |
Location Information
The Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana was completed in 1999 and held rounds of the MotoGP and Spanish Motorcycle Championships in the same year. The Cheste track has several layouts, running anti-clockwise with varying lengths. MotoGP events are held on a 4km track comprising of five right handed corners, eight… read more.
| Length | 4.005 kilometres / 2.489 miles |
| Width | 12 metres |
| Left corners | 9 |
| Right corners | 5 |
| Longest straight | 0.876 kilometres / 0.544 miles |
| Constructed | 1999 |
Circuito de la Comunidad Valenciana Ricardo Tormo, Cheste, Spain - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 28.809s (162.3km/h) Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia, 2025) |
| Race Lap | 1m 30.145s (159.9km/h) Brad Binder (KTM, 2023) |
| 2023 Race Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
| 2025 Sprint Winner | Alex Marquez (Ducati) |
