Luca Marini finally finds gains in Silverstone qualifying, but…

After a tough start to life in the colours of HRC, Luca Marini has begun to make progress in recent races.

This has also been the case so far at Silverstone where, in the Sprint, he spent much of the time as the leading Honda rider.

• 2024 British MotoGP, Silverstone - Sprint Race Results

Marini’s was the leading RC213V until lap eight, when he was passed by the LCR team’s Johann Zarco. There were a few differences that Marini noted between himself and the #5, both in the riders themselves and their respective bikes.

On the riding side, Marini said that “for me, it looks like if I want to push aggressively and make one hot lap — okay, I can do a good lap. But to be constant during all the race I’m struggling a little bit at the moment.” 

Zarco, on the other hand, “looks a little bit more under control and can manage a little bit better,” Marini said.

On the technical side, meanwhile “my engine is quite slower in this track comparing to Zarco’s,” said the Repsol Honda rider, and the two were different in front tyre choice, too: Marini chose the medium-compound, while Zarco went with the soft.

Marini said that his engine specification was a choice, and not forced on him. “It’s part of my choice to keep working on this because it’s much better than the other,” Marini said.

The tyre, on the other hand, while also Marini’s choice, the Italian felt it was not the optimal one.

“I’m not really happy about the front tyre,” he said.. “In the Sprint, I thought that I could do something better, but after six laps I started to feel too much movement and closing in the front, especially in the right side, and I didn’t have a good feeling to push until the end of the race: in fact, Zarco overtook me.

“I asked him how was the soft [front tyre], and it looks good, the soft front. So, maybe it was a wrong choice, because the medium front is always that tyre in the middle, that there are not so many negative points, but also nothing great: you cannot brake as hard as with the hard, and you cannot have the same edge grip as the soft.

“So, every time it’s the tyre in the middle that is never excellent on something. But, okay, Michelin is doing a good job, so I’m happy about this.”

Tyre issues - not only for Honda

GasGas Tech3’s Augusto Fernandez had a similar opinion about the front tyres.

“Normally [...], I don’t really like [the medium front tyre] because I don’t get the good of the hard tyre or the good of the soft tyre,” said the Spaniard. 

“You don’t have edge grip, but you don’t have the support for the hard braking.”

Fernandez explained that, in the Silverstone Sprint, it wasn’t an excuse.

“Everybody chose the medium, so it’s okay. The problem is when everybody uses the hard and you can’t. Today, everybody went to the medium, so no excuses and it was not a problem.”

There were also problems at the rear for Marini, who eluded to that feels his Honda RC213V does not generate enough rear grip to be able to switch away from the grippier soft-compound rear tyre to the more durable medium-compound rear tyre for Sunday’s longer race.

“About the rear, I struggle a little bit too much with the drop on the right side — I expected a little bit better because I would like to race also tomorrow with the soft rear,” Marini said.

“We need to look well in the data because for sure the medium is very constant, you can push at 100 per cent from the first lap until the end, but our bike is not so strong with the medium rear. But with the soft we can fight for better positions, maybe.”