Luca Marini rejects idea of Toprak Razgatlioglu joining Honda

Luca Marini, currently in the first year of a two-year Repsol Honda deal, has emphasised that he “gets along very well with Joan Mir. He’s a nice person, and I hope he stays at the team” for MotoGP 2025.

Despite another frustrating season, 2020 world champion Mir insists his priority is to remain at the factory Honda squad, although a contract extension is yet to be announced.

But if Mir and Honda fail to reach an agreement, Marini thinks it would be better to sign a rider with proven MotoGP experience rather than pursue WorldSBK star Toprak Razgatlioglu.

Razgatlioglu has impressed the motorcycle world by putting BMW into the Superbike championship lead in his debut season with the brand, reigniting rumours of a MotoGP move.

With manager Kenan Sofuoglu frequently making clear it would only be with a factory MotoGP team, Honda would be the last remaining chance for 2025, with the European teams full and Alex Rins expected to be renewed at Monster Yamaha.

But Sofuoglu has played down the chances of a Razgatlioglu MotoGP move for next season and Marini feels that Honda, currently bottom-of-the-constructors’ standings, would be better served by an experienced rider if Mir leaves.

“I say no!” Marini told GPone.com when asked bout Razgatlioglu and Honda. “If a rider has to come it would be interesting to have one from Aprilia or KTM, who would bring some more knowledge. 

“I could be an example [of that] coming from Ducati. Having said that, should a new rider come, he has to be technical, able to share information, and give feedback in the right way that’s understood.”

Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira are among the experienced KTM/Aprilia riders still to be confirmed for 2025.