Luca Marini: “Misano MotoGP test will be a crucial point”

Repsol Honda are expected to run a similar package for this weekend's San Marino MotoGP but there could be big changes to the RC213V at Monday’s Official test.

In the words of team manager Alberto Puig, the test will see Honda’s “biggest step of the year” with a “full package” of upgrades for the struggling RC213V.

Luca Marini, starting the last eight rounds of his debut Repsol Honda season, also described it as a “crucial point”.

“Every race is important… but maybe the Misano test is a little bit more important,” said the Italian.

“It’s like a key point for the engineers, the Misano test, because all the development will be there with new pieces, with new updates, which have been planned since the beginning of the season.”

Marini, who has scored just one point so far this season, explained that the private tests now possible with race riders due to the revised concessions were more spur of the moment.

“But the Misano test will be a crucial point, because we have big updates and I hope also that the feeling on the bike will improve a lot, not just a little bit like we made until now,” he said.

“Because we made very good steps forward, but every time little steps. So we need a bigger step.”

Team-mate Joan Mir also confirmed that the RC213V is likely to be unchanged from Aragon for this weekend’s first Misano event, but that upgrades from the official test could be raced from ‘Misano 2’ onwards.

“I think that the new things that can help us at the second part of the race, they will arrive after Misano [1],” he said, clarifying: “After Misano test.

“Aragon and Misano [1] we will have the [same] package… but the big things will come after that race. So I expect that from then on, we can be a little bit more close.”

Unfortunately for Mir, the Misano weekend didn’t start well with sickness on Thursday causing the 2020 world champion to cancel all his media commitments.

Takaaki Nakagami is currently the top Honda rider in the world championship, with 18 points for 18th place. Johann Zarco is 19th (17 points), with Mir 21st (15 points) and Marini 24th (1 point).