Luca Marini: 'It hurts a bit looking at the classification now'

Seven rounds into his Repsol Honda career and Luca Marini is still searching for his first MotoGP world championship point on an RC213V.

It’s a far cry from a year ago at VR46 Ducati, when at the same stage of the season he had just taken his first MotoGP Sprint and GP podiums, scored 72 points and was sixth in the standings.

The Italian admits it’s a ‘really difficult situation’ but has 'trust' in turning around the RC213V project: ‘For sure in the future I will be much happier than now’.

“I'm quite surprised about my mental approach of this moment, because it's a really difficult situation for me,” Marini said.

“When I'm watching the TV [feed] that Dorna plays in the afternoon and evenings [in the paddock], with all of the races from last year, I see myself in the first three positions.

“So it hurts a little bit looking at the classification now.

“But I know that this is a different project that I trust in very much, and for sure in the future I will be much happier than now.

“So just be calm and relaxed, keep working because all the Japanese are doing a great job.”

While Honda is still last in the constructors’ standings, and its top rider - Marini’s team-mate Joan Mir - only 18th in the riders’ championship, there is cautious optimism that the latest engine and aero modifications are in the right direction.

“We still need to work on the setting, because with the new aero, a little bit the balance of the bike changed, so we need to adjust something,” Marini said.

The revised engine to try and aid turning, introduced at Barcelona, is also: “A step for the future, so we still must work on the development of the bike - not focus on what is maybe the fastest option for going fast today, but for going fast tomorrow.”

Marini is in the first year of a two-year Honda deal with Mir rumoured to be on the verge of re-signing for 2025.